


If You Mean It

by Willowwren



Category: Incarceron Series - Catherine Fisher
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, F/M, Marriage, Romance, or lack thereof
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-02
Updated: 2014-03-01
Packaged: 2018-01-10 21:40:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1164831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Willowwren/pseuds/Willowwren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Attia grows frustrated with life outside Incarceron. She decides to go back in and help the Warden keep order. Keiro and Claudia go after her, only to discover finding her won't be as easy as they thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Parties

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I have ever posted anywhere! I am excited for feedback, as well as terrified of it. Sorry about the shortness of the first chapter. I promise the others will be longer.

Attia sat with her arms crossed at the long table laden with food and drink. She watched Keiro flirt with a girl across from her. He was leaning close to her, whispering something in her ear that made her giggle and blush. Bile rose to Attia’s throat. She needed to get out of there.  
She pushed away from the table, her chair scraping loudly against the floor. Claudia gave her a questioning look from her spot next to Finn at the head of the table. Attia smiled apologetically and left the protection of the canopy they dined under and trudge off toward the dilapidated castle they had settled in.  
It had been drizzling rain all day. The farmers rejoiced and Finn decided to throw a party. They hadn’t been out of Incarceron for three months and Finn had thrown five parties already. Claudia said he was trying to be likable. He wanted to gain the favor of the people. Finn was growing comfortable in the limelight, Claudia had grown up in it, Keiro craved it, but Attia feared it.  
She hated the way people looked at her like she was some hero. She was a survivor of a mysterious place that people feared, so they feared her. Perhaps if she was as suave as Keiro they would like her more, but, as it was becoming abundantly clear to her, she was nothing like Keiro. She was also nothing like the girls Keiro was pursuing left and right. She didn’t know what she had expected.  
No; that wasn’t true. She knew exactly what she expected. He had pulled her out of Incarceron, hand in hand. She expected him to never let go of her.  
Most days they didn’t even see each other. If they did it was because Finn had called both of them or he was throwing a party. When they were in the same room he hardly looked at her.  
Much like today, when he spent most of the party wooing some blonde bimbo who could hardly cut her own meat, let alone a man’s throat.  
“I’d like to see her survive for more than five minutes in the prison.” She muttered to herself.  
When she reached the castle she was dripping wet. It was dark in the entryway, no one had bothered to lights any fires. Attia sighed before making her way through the dark.  
It wasn’t too hard to find her first floor room. She knelt in front of the fireplace and lit a small fire, just big enough to light her room while she changed into dry sleepwear. Despite the rain it had been quite warm all week. Claudia had provided her with several dresses and night gowns, but she avoided them, opting instead to wear trousers and tunics.  
She changed into an oversized shirt that fell to her knees and a dry pair of woolen socks. Her big comfy bed looked more than inviting.  
“Who needs parties when you can have sleep?” She jumped onto the bed and nuzzled a pillow.  
“Attia?” Claudia knocked on her door. “What are you doing?”  
Claudia opened her door and came into her room.  
Over the last few weeks Attia and Claudia had grown closer. They didn’t have much in common except for Finn and the prison, but it had been enough to form some sort of bond. Attia had let go of Finn when she took Keiro’s hand and Claudia was the only one who knew it. Claudia climbed onto Attia’s bed and flopped on her back.  
“Did you know that when I was pretending to be a dog slave the only food I got was the few bites Jormanric made me eat to make sure his food wasn’t poisoned?” Attia asked, her face still buried in pillows.  
“No.” Claudia turned to her, waiting for her to finish her story.  
“Well those meals were more enjoyable than these stupid parties.”  
Claudia laughed. “At least you don’t have to talk to anyone.”  
Attia grunted an agreement.  
“Have you talked to Keiro recently?” Claudia asked.  
“No.” Attia sighed. “He’s been distracted by Lady Clarissa.”  
When she said her name she mimicked the girl’s frilly accent. Claudia laughed again.  
“Promise me you’ll talk to him next time you see him.” She slipped off of Attia’s bed.  
“Sure, fine.” Attia waved her away.  
“I’ll know if you don’t.” Claudia threatened and slipped out of the door, closing it behind her.  
Attia laid in bed, no longer thinking about sleep. Now she thought about what she would say next time she saw Keiro.  
“Oh hello Keiro, how are you?” She practiced.  
“How’s Clarissa?”  
“Why are you an idiot?”  
“Remember all those times I saved your life?”  
“Remember all those times you saved my life? Yeah, me neither.”  
She covered her face with a pillow and screamed. Claudia told her this was a normal way to feel about a boy. Attia had always been too busy trying to survive to flirt or even think about boys. Until Finn had saved her.  
She wondered what would happen if she went back to Jormanric.  
Without even thinking about it Attia climbed out of bed and put on a pair of pants, some boots, and a jacket. If she thought about it she would lose her courage. The path to the white room had been ingrained in her brain. It’s entrance at the royal palace was much more frightening than the entrance at the destroyed Warden’s palace. Attia had been through hell and back, but the dank, cobweb covered brick walls sent shivers down her spine. She entered the room and sat in the chair.  
A few button presses later she was standing in the room where Incarceron’s statue still stood. Attia had nightmares about that thing. She hated it more than she hated any memory of this place. She decided then that if she was going to stay here, it would have to be far away from that thing.  
Jared looked up at her from a desk he had brought in.  
“Attia?” He asked. He looked much better than the last time Attia had seen him. Healthier, if not more crazed.  
“Hello Jared.” She smiled. “I changed my mind.”


	2. Winged Lord

Keiro had watched Attia go and it made his stomach clench. He knew he should follow her, but he was afraid of what she would do. He could imagine the disgust in her eyes when she turned around and saw that it was him who came to see if she was okay.  
She was here for Finn, he knew that. And now Claudia.  
The blonde next to him was trying to get his attention.  
He smiled at her. Not a genuine smile, the kind of smile that let her know that he thought she was cute. She was, he supposed.  
Claudia got up to follow Attia. She covered herself with a jacket, unlike Attia who had braved the rain. Once again Keiro felt an itch in the back of his mind. He should be the one going to her, not Claudia. He had been the one who asked her to come out of Incarceron and she was unhappy here.  
It was apparent even on their first day that she wanted to go back, but she stayed.  
For Finn, Keiro told himself.  
Keiro had lost all interest in the blonde. He got up in the middle of her sentence and left without a word. Finn was deep in a conversation with some noble so Keiro went to Caspar. Caspar, who was slowly but surely becoming more tolerable.  
Most people ignored him, but Keiro enjoyed taunting him. And he knew Caspar was desperate for attention.  
“You gonna finish that?” Keiro sat next to him and plucked an olive off of his plate.  
“No.” Caspar crossed his arms and pouted.  
“What’s wrong with you?” He asked.  
“That Attia girl can come and go as she pleases, but if I tried to leave Giles would have my head.” Caspar whined.  
“That’s because you are a prisoner. Attia is not.” Keiro stole another olive.  
“That’s rich, Keiro. Considering where you all came from.” Caspar swatted his hand away from his plate.  
“Watch yourself Caspar, or I’ll tell Attia that you called her a prisoner. You know how she feels about that.” Keiro snickered.  
“No, don’t do that.” Caspar practically begged. “She’ll put all of my shoes in the pond again. I swear, she’s absolutely savage.”  
Keiro chuckled. “You deserved that.”  
“Of course you would side with her. You’re both savages.” Caspar huffed.  
“Well there must be something to that, since we’re the most attractive people in this place.” Keiro slapped Caspar on the back.  
“Attia, maybe, but certainly not you. You’re much too lanky.” Caspar rolled his eyes.  
“And you’re much too fat, Caspar.” Keiro laughed.  
Keiro took Caspar’s goblet of wine and drank it down. He refilled it twice before he started to think that maybe it really was a good idea to go to Attia. He we go and ask her why she had left such a good party. He stumbled out of his chair, nearly knocking over Caspar who had even more to drink than him.  
The rain hardly even registered in his mind as he shuffled toward the palace. It looked eerie in the light of the stars and distant fires. Keiro stomped down the hallways until he reached Attia’s room. He pounded on the door.  
“Attia?” He meant to be soft, but it came out as a growl. “What are you doing?”  
She didn’t answer.  
“Attia! Are you asleep?” His words were slurred.  
He tried the doorknob and it opened.  
“Attia?” Somewhere in his drunken stupor he was growing concerned.  
He went to the bed and pulled back the blankets. Her bed was empty and cold.  
Keiro cursed under his breath. He hadn’t planned on becoming sober until the next morning, but his concern brought sobriety along with it. The bathroom down the hall was empty as well. He ran through the halls, yelling her name.  
Claudia found him pacing in front of Attia’s room.  
“Keiro? What’s wrong?” She asked.  
“She’s gone. She left.” He answered without pausing his steps.  
“Attia? What do you mean she left?”  
“She isn’t in her room. She isn’t anywhere.” He threw up his hands, frustrated that Claudia wasn’t getting it.  
“I’m sure she’s somewhere around here.”  
“I know exactly where she is.” He said gravely.  
“Then why are you panicking?” Claudia wanted to swat at him for worrying her, but part of her was still scared of Keiro. She thought he was unstable and she didn’t want to be the one to push him over the edge.  
“Because,” His voice grew hoarse. “I don’t particularly want to go back.”  
“Are you telling me you think she went back in?” Claudia laughed. “Keiro, why would she do that?”  
“Because she isn’t happy here, Claudia.” He stopped pacing and looked at her.  
“She wouldn’t do that.” Claudia had lost her confidence.  
“There’s one way to find out.” Keiro pivoted and walked away from her.  
They sped through the hallways until they reached the white room. Claudia opened the door and made the screen come to life. Jared’s face appeared before them.  
“Jared!” They said together, startling him.  
“You frightened me.” He clutched his chest. Just a few months ago Claudia would have grown worried to see him do that, but now it almost amused her.  
“Did Attia go back?” Keiro asked.  
“Yes, almost an hour ago.” Jared knit his brow. “You didn’t know?”  
Keiro pushed away from the desk and ran his hands through his gold locks.  
“Is she with you, Jared?” Claudia asked.  
“Of course not.” Keiro answered for him. “She would have gotten out of there just as quickly as she showed up.”  
“She did to be in a hurry.” Jared shrugged as if he thought nothing of it.  
“She’s running from us.” Claudia realized.  
“Do you know where she went?” Keiro asked.  
Jared looked away from them and cleared his throat. “Um, yes.”  
“Where?” Keiro and Claudia shouted together.  
“To the Warden’s tower.” He winced, waiting for them to yell again.  
“Why would she go there?” Claudia asked.  
“Oh.” Jared’s eyes and mouth made perfect O’s. “You don’t know that either.”  
“Just tell us, man!” Keiro held his hands up like he was going to shake Jared, then remembered he wasn’t actually there.  
“The Warden isn’t doing well.” Jared looked at Claudia. “He’s decided to start hiring bounty hunters. Attia went to volunteer her services.”  
“She’s going to get herself killed.” Keiro was unnervingly quiet.  
“Don’t underestimate her, Keiro.” Claudia scolded him. “That’s why she left in the first place.”  
“You don’t need to blame me for this, Claudia!” Keiro screamed, his voice echoing through the empty room in Incarceron. “I know it’s my fault!”  
Claudia shrank away from him. Keiro stormed to a wall and punched it. His knuckled came away bloody.  
“Are you mad because she left, or because you have to go after her?” Attia asked.  
“Both.” Keiro grunted.  
“Let me go tell Giles. He may want to come along.” Attia walked to the door.  
“Finn needs to stay here, you know that. It can’t look like he’s abandoning his people.” Keiro settled into the seat.  
“Well then I need to tell him that you and I are going after her.” Claudia raised her chin, ready to defend her right to go after Attia as well.  
“Fine, but hurry. I won’t wait long.” Keiro pressed and buttoned and disappeared, only to reappear on the screen right in front of Jared.  
Claudia ran back to the party to explain things to Finn.  
“Welcome back.” Jared said without looking up from the papers on his desk.  
“Thanks.” Keiro’s voice was flat. “Which way did she go?”  
Jared sighed as if he was growing tired of giving directions. “Go back to the place where you woke up, after Rix tied you up. Go down the tunnel to the left of the one he took you in. You’ll come out at the tower.”  
Keiro shivered at the thought of spending any more time in those tunnels. Last time they were in them Attia almost got crushed by a giant ball of the prison’s waste and spare parts. He had reached her just in time to pull her out of the way. They had spent a lot of time down here saving each other and he had never thanked her for it.  
Then again she had never thanked him and she knew how bad he was with sentiment.  
Keiro grew antsier as the minutes ticked by. He hadn’t said another word to Jared. He didn’t understand the reverence everyone held the man in. Sure he was wise and he looked like a king, but he was still frail.  
When Claudia finally arrived she was no longer in her dress. Her new outfit was tight and black and looked like it took a long time to change into. She threw a pack at Keiro.  
“What are these? What are you wearing?” He asked.  
“We don’t know how long we’ll be down here.” She shrugged.  
“We could have caught up with her and dragged her back by now if you hadn’t wasted so much time.” Keiro grunted and ran to the door.  
Attia would have left quickly, so they were going to get a running start. Claudia said a quick hello and goodbye to Jared and ran after him. Finding his way back through the rooms the Warden had occupied for a short time was easy. They were fresh in his memory. Even if he wanted to forget them he doubted her could. He didn’t even hesitate at the ladder, he just dropped down and caught himself almost halfway down. Claudia took her time on each rung.  
“Come on.” Keiro grunted.  
He crouched down and looked into the tunnel. There was no light and they had no torched.  
“We’ll just have to feel our way through.” He sighed and pressed on.  
Claudia whimpered when she saw how tight it would be. She didn’t wait long, she didn’t want Keiro to get too far ahead, but she was already thinking about turning around. Keiro would have no trouble finding her by himself. Her panicked subsided as the tunnel widened. It was gone completely when they were able to stand up. The clearing into which they emerged was empty except for a giant sphere.  
“They must have dislodged it to clear the tunnel.” Keiro walked over to it and pulled out a loose blade. It was dull and rusted, but it was better than nothing. He shoved it into his belt and turned to the tunnel to the left of the one they had just emerged from.  
Claudia was breathing heavily, but her adrenaline was pumping now.  
“What are we waiting for?” She asked.  
Keiro looked at her and smiled coldly. She didn’t know what Attia saw in him.  
“Ladies first.” He swept his hand and bowed as if he was gallant.  
Claudia puffed up her chest and went into the tunnel. It was just as dark as the first, but where crawling through the other one felt like crawling through a giant artery, this one just felt like metal.  
“This place makes no sense.” She muttered.  
“You aint seen nothing yet.” Keiro snickered.  
They walked quickly on the smooth floor. Claudia almost felt like she was taking a leisurely stroll. It would have been nicer if Keiro hadn’t been behind her telling her to speed it up at least once every five minutes. She couldn’t tell if he was in a hurry to get to Attia, or to get out of the prison.  
“Why are we doing this?” Claudia asked.  
Her questions surprised Keiro. “What do you mean?”  
“You said yourself that Attia was unhappy on the outside. Why don’t we just let her live down here?” She turned back to look at him but couldn’t find him in the darkness.  
“The chances of her dying are much smaller on the outside.” Keiro answered.  
“Why?”  
“Because that’s where I am.”  
“As I understand it she can handle herself.” Claudia was amused. “She even saved you quite a few times.”  
“Yeah and I save her more than a few times.” Claudia had touched a nerve.  
“So it’s like a teamwork thing?” She asked.  
He grunted noncommittally.  
“But Finn is your brother, which makes Attia your what? Sister?”  
“Shut up.” Keiro hissed.  
“So not your sister.” Claudia giggled. She was finally getting somewhere with him.  
He grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth with a calloused hand. They hit a wall and he pulled her down.  
I’ve finally done it. She thought. He’s going to kill me.  
She tried to wiggle out of his grasp. He hushed her quietly. She heard people.  
Voices and laughter echoed down the tunnel. They never moved closer of farther away.  
“Stay here.” Keiro whispered and crawled away from her.  
He stayed close to the wall and moved as quietly as possible. His hand never left the hilt of his new (old) blade. Soon he saw light from a campfire. Three men sat around a small blaze, roasting some sort of animal.  
“Come out of the shadows, we won’t harm you.” One of them said. He was old and completely hairless.  
Keiro stood up slowly and pulled his blade out of his belt.  
“Who are you?” He asked.  
“Two in one night!” The bald man laughed.  
The other two laughed, though they looked more nervous.  
“What do you mean?” Keiro pointed his sword at the man.  
“I just say that every few minutes or so. I didn’t know you were there.” He wheezed.  
“The other one? From tonight. Describe her.” Keiro swept his sword to the side so that the other two knew he was threatening them as well.  
“Short! She was short!” One of them yelled.  
“Well,” The other drawled. “Petite, anyway.”  
“Brown hair!”  
“A knotted mess, really.”  
“Brown eyes!”  
“Sad eyes, like a kicked puppy.”  
“Nice clothes!”  
“Not nice nice, just not prison clothes.”  
The two went back and forth, somehow describing Attia with perfect clarity together in a way they could never do apart.  
“All right, enough.” Keiro let his sword arm fall to his side. “How long ago did she come by here?”  
“Two hours!”  
“Well, two hours and twenty minutes.”  
The bald man smiled at the boys like a proud Father, even though he looked nothing like them and probably wasn’t old enough to be the excited one’s parent.  
“Claudia!” Keiro shouted. “Come on!”  
Claudia came tumbling out of the darkness. “Who are they?”  
“I don’t know, but they aren’t going to hurt us.” He didn’t put his sword away, but kept it at his side. “Are you?”  
“No!”  
“Couldn’t even if we wanted to, really.”  
The bald man smiled at them as they inched their way around their camp. “Would you like a stick from our fire to light your way?”  
“No.” Keiro said at the same time Claudia said, “Yes.”  
“No.” Keiro repeated.  
“Why didn’t you accept their torch?” Claudia asked when they were far enough away that they could no longer hear their laughter.  
“You don’t understand what it’s like down here, Claudia. Even the ones who seem nice want to kill you.” Keiro grunted.  
“Is that what you were like?” She asked.  
“No.” He scoffed. “I wasn’t nice.”  
“What about Attia?”  
“It’s all about survival. The easiest way to survive is to kill the threats. Down here, everyone is a threat.” Keiro’s voice was hollow. Too hollow for him not to be forcing all emotion out.  
“That’s why you’re worried about her.” Claudia realized. “You don’t want her to have to kill anyone.”  
“We left this place for a reason.” For the first time in their short acquaintance, Keiro sounded like a human to Claudia.  
They walked on in silence until they saw another light in the distance. Keiro held his hand out to stop her so he could listen. There were no voices or breaths echoing of metal walls. They bolted forward and didn’t stop, even when they reached the ladder under the naked bulb that was providing the dim light. Keiro flew up the ladder. The hole that led out was blocked by something. He pushed it away and crawled out into the library in the Warden’s tower.  
Keiro scanned the bookshelves full of the magic books that recorded the lives of each prisoner. He knew his was up their somewhere, unless Attia had the same idea as he was having now. He pushed down his impulse and ran out of the room with Claudia on his heels.  
“Attia?” He called.  
“Father?” Claudia called when Attia didn’t answer Keiro.  
They heard a cough from another room and ran to it.  
Lying in bed was the Warden. A fire blazed in the fireplace, making the room much hotter than was comfortable. Claudia knelt beside the bed.  
“Father?” Her voice cracked.  
“Claudia?” He tried to sit up but was too weak.  
Claudia pulled her Father into a sitting position and fetched him water when he coughed.  
“What are you doing here?” His eyes darted to Keiro for a split second, but he focused on Claudia.  
“We’re here for Attia.” Keiro stepped forward.  
“You’re too late. She left.” He glared at the boy.  
“Where’d she go?” Keiro was growing even more impatient.  
“She went to carry out an errand.” The Warden’s eyes fell, as if he didn’t even have the strength to glare for long. “Though I think it was more of a personal vendetta for her.”  
“Damn.” Keiro slicked back his. “She’s going after Jormanric isn’t she?”  
The Warden nodded.  
“Father, how long have you been ill?” Claudia interrupted.  
“Oh, a few weeks.” He said as if he just now remembered he was sick.  
Claudia looked up at Keiro. He nodded.  
“Is she on foot?” He asked the Warden.  
“No. I had some men build another flying machine after your lot stole and crashed my other one. She took that.” The Warden’s eyes drooped.  
“Damn.” Keiro said again. “Do you have anything else?”  
“There’s a horse.” John Arlex was losing consciousness.  
“I don’t suppose it can fly.” Keiro said bitterly remembering where they were.  
The Warden just smiled and fell asleep.  
Keiro would have shaken him awake if Claudia wasn’t sitting there. He ran back to the library and pulled one of the books off the shelf. He shoved it in his jacket and went back to the Warden’s bedroom.  
“I’ll be back soon. With Attia.” He said in lieu of a goodbye.  
Claudia nodded without looking away from her Father.  
Keiro found the horse in a stable in the base of the tower. It shook its white head when Keiro approached it. He opened the gate and let the horse walk out of its own accord. It took Keiro a moment to notice the wings when they were folded up against its body, but when the stallion spread them out there was no missing them. They shone pearlescent in the firelight. This was a creation of the prison, which meant that Keiro hated it. But he had little choice.  
It was already saddled so he climbed on and pat the horse on the neck.  
“Please work.” Keiro kicked its sides and clicked his tongue.  
The horse reared and neighed. Keiro held on for dear life as he bolted out the door and leapt once, twice, three times before flapping his great wings and ascending. It was almost like riding a real horse if he didn’t look down. There was no sign of the flying machine as far as he could see, but he knew where she was headed so that’s where he steered the horse.  
Back to his old home. A cruel smile spread across his face as he remembered that he had beat Jormanric.  
He was a Winglord.


	3. A Day in the Life

Attia hadn’t really been surprised to find Rix nervously fluttering around the Warden.  
“What are you doing here!?” He grew angry when he saw her.  
“It’s good to see you too, Rix.” She pushed past him and approached the Warden.  
He looked horrible. For a moment she considered going back to tell Claudia.  
“I hear you’re looking for bounty hunters.” She wouldn’t be going back that easily.  
“Deputies.” The Warden rasped.  
“I’m in.” She handed him a glass of water.  
“Why?” Rix shoved her aside and helped the Warden drink his water.  
“Because it’s a lovely excuse to go kill someone who made my life hell.” She said coolly. “I’m starting with Jormanric. I’ll go kill him, scatter his gang, and come back so you can boss me around.”  
“You always had spunk didn’t you?” The Warden eyed her. “There’s more anger in you now, though. Why is that?”  
Attia wasn’t in a chatty mood. “Just help me get there, I’ll take care of the rest.”  
The Warden waved Rix away. “Go ready the ship.”  
“Ship?” Attia asked. “As in a flying ship?”  
The Warden nodded.  
Now they were flying away from the tower, Rix at the wheel. Attia sat on the wooden floorboards, trying to keep her breath even. The last time she had been on a flying ship she was dying form poison and they crashed. Rix acted as though he knew what he was doing, but Attia knew how well he could act. She also knew how crazy he was, which was anything but a comfort.   
“How is my apprentice?” He asked.  
“Stupid, arrogant, stubborn.” Attia spat.  
“Good.” Rix smiled.  
“How long will it take us to get there?”   
“A day, maybe a day and a half. I might get tired.”  
Attia didn’t quite believe him. She had never seen anything but unadulterated energy in Rix’s eyes. If anyone could live their whole life without sleep it was him.   
“You know we could take full advantage of this situation.” Rix’s tone was mischievous. “We could perform while we’re traveling around hunting bad guys.”  
“Rix, you tried to kill me the last time I saw you, and you were reciting your act. I’m never performing with you again. I don’t even trust you as far as I can throw you.” Attia hugged her knees to her chest, trying not to remember how afraid she had been when he raised the sword above her. How she had said Keiro’s name and he had pretended to give up.  
He couldn’t even say a comforting word in what she thought were her last moments. Then again he did it because he had a plan. Attia hated how even her good memories of Keiro were mixed with anger and resentment.   
“Keiro would hate me if I killed you. Then he would never come to his senses and return to me, his Master.” Rix was clearly bitter.  
“That’s not going to happen anyway, Rix. He really didn’t like you.”   
“No, but you did. We got along, didn’t we sweetkin?” He looked back and winked at her.  
“That was before you tried to kill me and I realized how insane you truly are.”   
“I’m enlightened Attia, not insane.” Rix sounded reverential, but he was only revering himself. “Some would call me a genius, a virtuoso of the magic and mystery of this home they call a prison. You only think I’m crazy because you don’t understand, but I do. The prison has spoken to me. I am his child and he is my Father. Now I work for Incarceron as a servant because that is what he deserves.”  
He went on like that for hours. Attia stayed quiet and let him rant. She looked up into the darkness and searched for the red eyes. Before Finn and Keiro and Gildas she had paid little attention to them. They were just a part of the background. After she was swept up in their fight the red lights had become sinister. She grew frightened of what was watching her. But now they were a comfort. She knew Jared was on the other side, keeping an eye on her.  
Before she knew it she was asleep and dreaming.   
She was standing on the edge of the bridge and it was crumbling.  
Keiro grabber her arm. “Time to take a chance.”  
And he pushed her off. She turned in midair to watch him as she fell. His eyes were empty, void of emotion.  
She remembered the Warden’s words. “He will act for himself, without a qualm.”  
She had defended him, claimed to know him better than the Warden. But now, looking up at him, she wondered if that was true.  
He winked at her and everything sped up. She tumbled through the empty air, it was exactly like the first time, but instead of a mouth to swallow her, the destination of this fall was the cold, hard ground. She woke up right before she hit bottom.  
The ship had landed. Rix smiled at her. “Pleasant dreams?”  
She glared at him. “Why did you land?”  
“I grew tired.” He shrugged.  
There was something different about him. He slouched a little and there were bags under his eyes. Jared and the Warden must have been working him hard. She couldn’t blame them, she would have sent him all over the prison if he had insisted on serving her. Still, she felt bad for him. His delusions were deeply rooted in his mind.  
“You rest. I’ll keep watch.” Attia stood up and walked to the railing to see where they had landed.  
He had put them on top of a small hill of sand. For miles in every direction there was nothing but flat, barren land. They were in a desert. The lights had been on for less than half an hour, Attia wasn’t worried about anyone attacking them. And if they did she would see them coming.  
Rix settled into a corner and started snoring almost immediately. Attia tried to imagine what would have happened if Keiro had decided to stay with Rix like he asked him to. If Rix wasn’t mad now, Keiro would have driven him to it. She tried to imagine what he would have been like after years under the tutelage of the eccentric magician. It frightened her that she could see it clearly. She could imagine Keiro wearing the decoy glove, heavy makeup plastered on his face to hide his aging skin. His steel blue eyes had energy, like Rix.  
They were different energies. Both were hungry and impatient. But Keiro’s power was rooted in reality, Rix’s in a fantasy.   
Attia pushed away thoughts of Keiro. She looked at the desert around them and it sent a shiver down her spine. The vastness of it frightened her. Rix snorted in his sleep. She looked at him and when she turned back there was man standing in front of her.  
“Rix!” She screamed and reached for the knife she kept at her belt.   
There was no knife. It was in a chest at the foot of her bed in the palace outside. She didn’t need it there, so why did she leave it there?  
Rix jumped up and pulled his own knife. Seeing that Attia was weaponless he threw her a small dagger from his boot. She reached up to catch it, but someone tackled her to the ground. It wasn’t the man in front of her, which meant there was more than one of them. In fact there were many and they were boarding the air ship.  
“Don’t feel bad, girl. We hide in the sand.” The one who tackled her said.  
“We are on urgent business from the Warden! I demand you release us!” Rix yelled at the men who had grabbed him on either side.   
“In that case perhaps we’ll leave you here.” One of them said. “We were going to bring you with us.”  
“Where are you going?” Attia asked.  
“Somewhere with water.” The one on the other side of Rix answered. “Lots of water.”  
“And we can get there now that we have this fancy flying ship.” The first man that Attia had seen climbed into the boat. “Mac, go get your Mother and sisters.”  
They were a family. A family living under the sand in this never-ending desert.  
“Will you let me up, please?” Attia asked the one who was still on top of her. “I promise not to try anything.”  
The boy looked to his father who nodded his head. He stood up and held out a hand to help her up.   
“I’m Attia. That’s Rix.” She pointed at him struggling with the man who held him.  
Even without the help of his brother, Mac, the other boy had no trouble keeping hold of Rix. They were all large men. Tall as well as broad.   
“We are stealing your air boat.” The Father said matter-of-factly.  
“Could you take us as far as the Comitatus wing?” Attia asked.  
“This is a big prison, girl. What makes you think we know where that is?” He sneered, as if his ignorance was something he was proud of.  
“I can direct you there. If you leave us here we’ll die in no time, but if you will take us with you I can help you navigate through the prison.” Attia offered.  
“How do you know so much about the prison?” One of the sons asked.  
Attia looked at Rix. She didn’t know how much was safe to say. She certainly couldn’t tell them that she had escaped the prison. She didn’t know who knew about the new order, but she knew it would be dangerous for anyone to find out that she had access to the outside.  
“I’ve done a lot of traveling.” She said.  
“We’ll take you out of the desert.” The Father grunted.  
By then Mac had returned with his Mother and four little girls. They all looked at Attia suspiciously and all but ignored Rix. The Father walked up to Rix and held a knife to his throat.  
“You will show me how to fly this thing.” He growled.  
Rix sneered right back, but a sharp word from Attia and he complied.   
They were up in the air in no time. The Father and two of the sons hovered around Rix, in case he decided to try anything funny. The third son, the one who had tackled her, was put in charge of Attia. He sat next to her and didn’t speak. The girls soon made a game of creeping toward the railing and seeing who could make it the farthest before their Mother yelled at them to stay back. Attia chuckled at them.  
“Is Rix your Father?” The boy asked.  
“No.” Attia wrinkled her nose, disgusted by the idea of being related to Rix in any way.  
“Husband?” He asked.  
Attia laughed. “Heavens no, I can barely stand him.”  
He looked at his Mother and Father. “It seems to me that few women can stand their husbands.”  
They laughed and talked together, but when they reached the edge of the desert and his father told him to throw her overboard he didn’t hesitate. One moment she was sitting securely in the middle of the boat. The next, she was being hauled to the edge and dumped over the side. She knew what it felt like to fall. Her arms and legs flailed. Her breath left her so that she couldn’t even scream.   
Rix was falling too, she knew that without looking. Below her were trees and grass. It was actually quite beautiful, especially compared to the desert only feet away. The first time she fell this far the prison had caught her because she had the glove. Or rather Keiro had the glove and for whatever reason he had decided to take her with him. This time she had nothing, and she wasn’t afraid.  
A tree reached out and caught her in its leaves. It was as if the branches were hands that passed her down to the ground. They set her gently onto the soft grass.  
“Thanks Jared.” She whispered.  
Rix fell with a thump beside her. His tree had been somewhat less gentle.  
Attia stood up and looked around. She didn’t know this place, but it was forested, which was good in her opinion, and she knew which way to go. Rix’s two knives had been taken by the family, but he was a magician. She smiled when he pulled out two more daggers and handed them to her and retrieved another knife for himself.   
They started hiking through the forest, wary of being attacked.  
“I read a patchbook once about a man who lived the woods and stole from rich people to give to the poor. He once found a sword in a rock, when he pulled it out they made him King. He turned down the job to become a carpenter who only made round tables.” Rix told her.  
Attia had actually sort of missed Rix’s patchbook stories.   
“Why did he do that?” She asked.  
“I don’t know.” Rix answered earnestly.   
“Come on Rix, you have an answer for everything.” She urged.  
“I supposed not everyone is cut out to be a King.” Rix said in a moment of wisdom. “It takes a special kind of heart and I whole lot of courage. Not to mention a desire to do good.”  
Attia thought of Finn. He had a lot of courage, but she wasn’t sure about his heart. He’s good, she told herself, and with Claudia at his side that will be enough.  
She wondered if they realized she was gone yet, and if they did, what they were doing about it. Claudia would certainly be worried about her. Finn didn’t really care. And Keiro was probably fast asleep in Lady Clarissa’s bed. Or perhaps dear Clarissa’s brothers interceded and he was in a ditch somewhere, unconscious. The thought made Attia smile despite herself.  
“Tell me another patchbook story, Rix.” Attia needed a distraction.  
“I read one about twelve princesses who would sneak out at night to kill people until they were discovered by a giant who crushed all but one beneath his feet. The surviving princess then locked herself in a tower and lured men in by hanging her hair out of the window like a rope. If they reached the top she pushed them out of the window to their death.”  
“Do any of your stories have happy endings?”  
“Stories always end in death. Is death every happy?” Rix didn’t sound solemn. He sounded as if he was discussing the weather.  
“What if it’s a peaceful death?” Attia tried to imagine the circumstances that would make a death peaceful. “In the arms of someone you love.”  
“Then you know that person has to die in someone else’s arms.” Rix shrugged.  
Attia decided to stay silent. She didn’t want to think about death anymore. She focused on her steps and maintaining her balance on the uneven ground. Attia kept a hand on one of the knives at her belt.   
“You never want to be the last one to draw your weapon.” She heard Keiro’s voice in her head.  
He always used to tell her things like that. She had hated and loved that about him. Sometimes he spoke to her like she was a child and sometimes he yelled at her, but when he was giving her advice on how to fight or survive he spoke to her like an equal. They had depended on each other for so long that their survival began to depend on the other’s. Until they got outside.  
Attia kicked at the leaves on the ground. She was tired of thinking about Keiro. All it did was make her angry. She was vaguely aware of Rix talking behind her, but she did her best to ignore him. He’s a performer, she thought, he never stops performing. And yet again Attia thought about Keiro.  
When Keiro asked the question Attia couldn’t believe Keiro was his apprentice. She realized she had been blind. They had so much in common that being with Rix was helping Attia ignore her feelings for Keiro. If that was what he had in his future she wanted nothing to do with it. With any luck she would never see him again and she wouldn’t have to watch him deteriorate into a hopeless magician whose talent was wasted on an insane loyalty to a no longer active dictatorial prison. Keiro would never pledge any sort of allegiance to the prison, he hated it too much, but he loved Finn. If Finn ever became heinous, Keiro would be right there, whispering in his ear.   
Attia tripped over a root and fell to the ground.   
“Watch your step.” Rix laughed and walked over her.   
Before she even had a chance to stand up Rix was screaming. Attia pulled her knives out and crouched, ready to attack whatever had made Rix scream. He hadn’t stopped. He fell back and clutched his leg. Attia moved to his side and knelt next to him. His foot was caught in a metal contraption with teeth.  
“Rix! Stop screaming!” If there were any people in these woods they knew where they were now. And they knew that Rix was injured.  
Blood was pooling beneath Rix’s foot. She didn’t know how far into his leg the contraption had cut, but it had to be deep. There were tabs on either side of the mouth that clutched onto Rix. Attia pressed down on them as hard as she could with the heels of her hand. It opened slightly, but not enough to free Rix, all it did was make him scream more. Attia grit her teeth as she let the teeth clamp back onto his leg so she could stand up and try something else.   
“Here.” She pulled off her leather belt and handed it to him. “Bite down on that.”  
He put the belt in his mouth.  
Attia put her feet on either side of the contraption, right next to the tabs.  
“I’ll count to three and then step on them. Pull your leg out as soon as you can.” She instructed.  
Rix nodded.  
“One.” Attia said.  
Rix squeezed his eyes shut and dug his teeth into the belt.  
“Two.” Attia breathed.  
Rix screamed.  
“Three!” Attia gasped and stomped on the tabs.  
The mouth flew open and Rix rolled back. He spit out the belt and screamed into the dirt on the ground.  
“Rix, we should move.” Attia swept her gaze through the trees as she pulled Rix to his feet. “Lean on me as much as you need.”  
They picked their way through the forest at an agonizingly slow pace. If no one had hear Rix screaming, then whoever owned that trap would be back to check on it at some point. Attia didn’t want to be there when they arrived. She made Rix keep his eyes on the ground in case they came upon any more. He sobbed and groaned, but he kept moving.  
“There’s a cave.” Attia almost cried with relief.   
Attia kept her knife in hand when they entered the cave in case it was already occupied. She eased Rix onto the ground and carefully cut away his tattered pant leg.  
The teeth had torn up the flesh on his calf. Bloody pieces of skin and muscle were barely attached. Attia didn’t know what to do.  
“How do I fix it?” She asked, surprised to find little panic in her voice.  
“It needs to be cleaned.” Rix retched. “And wrapped.”  
Attia ran outside and thanked the powers that be that there was a stream that ran right over the rock they were hiding under. She ripped a piece off of her tunic and soaked it in the water.   
Rix’s face was pale as she cleaned the wound as best she could. Her light blue tunic turned red in many places from wiping his blood off her hands.   
“Wrap it once, then find something to use as a splint and wrap it again.” Rix instructed.  
“A splint?” She asked.  
“A piece of wood. The bone is broken. The splint will keep it aligned.” He explained. He was sweating and crying.  
“Right. Okay.” She did as he told her and sat back. Part of her expected it to magically heal itself.  
Instead Rix fell asleep. Attia hugged her knees to her chest and watched him.  
If she hadn’t fallen it would have been her leg. That thing would have cut right through her. At some point it had grown dark, but there would be no sleeping for her. Her first day back in Incarceron and she had already narrowly avoided disaster twice.  
Maybe she didn’t need Keiro after all.


	4. Taking Over

Keiro’s winged horse took him over distances faster than he had expected. He retraced his steps from his journey out of Incarceron, thinking that must have been what Attia would do. He flew over the ice wing and the plague village where he had picked her up. From above, the entire prison seemed more stable. There weren’t masses of people running away from lost corridors or towards promises.   
He tried to remember how fast the air boat was, but it had all been so hectic, what with Attia almost dying and then crashing, that he didn’t remember much else. But still the horse was flying so fast that he was surprised he didn’t catch up with her.   
When he was right outside his old wing he took the horse down. It was darker than he remembered. The walls were drab and slick with unknown slimes. Perhaps it was because he had never known anything better, but he couldn’t remember why he had wanted to own this place so much. He straightened his coat and adjusted the sword he had snatched from the Warden’s tower.   
No one noticed him at first. He had been a part of this place for so long that it didn’t seem odd to them for him to be back. To most of them it was as if they had a blind spot and now they could see again. Then a new lackey saw him and moved to stop him.   
He hadn’t had to fight in a while, but the movements came back to him without even thinking about it. He kicked the boys feet out from under him and kneeled on his chest with his sword against his throat.   
“Someone clearly doesn’t know who I am.” He smiled.   
The boy was dirty and thin. Keiro stood up, but kept his sword at his throat.   
“Who are you?” Keiro asked him.  
“My name’s Hame.” The boy rubbed his chest where Keiro had knelt on him.   
A crowd was gathering. They had noticed Keiro and were starting to remember him.   
“Take me to Jormanric.” Keiro demanded.  
The boy hesitated, but the looks he was getting from those around him made him fear the strange man who came from nowhere. He led Keiro to the room where Jormanric resided, surrounded by Comitatus. Hame was ready to push through the sea of people, but as soon as one person saw Keiro a whisper spread through the crowd and they separated to make way for him.   
Hame looked back at him, clearly curious to know who it was he was escorting right to his leader. Jormanric lounged in his chair. He had a new scar down his cheek that Keiro was fairly certain her gave him. A dog slave was chained to the wall next to him. The sight of it made his skin crawl. A year ago he would have kicked it as he passed. It was no wonder Attia hated him. How many times had he kicked her?  
Jormanric’s face turned red when he saw Keiro.  
“You have some nerve coming back here!” He roared.   
Everyone shrank back, except for Keiro who smiled his most charming smile.  
“What kind of Winglord would I be if I abandoned my people?” He swept his hand across the room indicating everyone in it.   
“Winglord?” Jormanric pushed away from his throne and drew his sword. “You aren’t Winglord here. I am!”  
Keiro chuckled and drew his own sword.   
“Where’d your rings go, Jormanric?” He took a step forward. “It’s weird seeing you without them.”  
Jormanric growled and lunged. Keiro braced himself for impact but it never came. Two men had stepped up and stopped him. Keiro recognized them. They had always hated him, everyone had, but apparently they hated Jormanric more because they were pummeling him. People cheered behind him. One of the men took Jormanric’s sword from his limp hand and handed it to Keiro.  
Keiro took the sword and weighed it in his hand.   
“Thanks.” He shook the hands of the men who had helped him.  
The dog slave slunk back against the wall, afraid of her new master. Keiro walked up to her, raised the sword, and brought it down on the chain. He cleaved it in half and motioned for two slave women to come get the girl.   
“Clean her up.” He sheathed his new sword and took his place on the throne.   
“So.” He stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed his arms. “Has anyone seen a small girl, brown hair, has trouble containing her anger, answers to the name Attia?”  
His new subjects looked at each other.   
“Nope?” He sighed. “Keep an eye out for her. If any of you harm her I will cut off your head after I torture you mercilessly.”  
The two men who had taken down Jormanric took a place on either side of him like guards. This concerned him. How many times had he done things for Jormanric just to make it easier when he challenged him? He would keep an eye on those two men. He called Hame to his side and told him that he would be his errand boy. Hame acted delighted and Keiro couldn’t tell if it was genuine.   
Jarmanric was dragged away to be locked up somewhere. Women flocked to Keiro, offering themselves to the new and handsome Winglord. He refused them, his thoughts on the missing Attia. She should have been here, or he would have seen her ship when he passed her.   
“Maybe’s she’s hiding. Biding her time.” He muttered.  
“What?” Hame asked.   
“I want you to go out, take your friends and scour the corridors around the wing. Look for a girl named Attia and bring her to me. There will be a hefty reward in it for you.” Keiro instructed.   
Hame nodded and ran to find others to help him. Keiro was restless. His victory had been too effortless to be comfortable. People came before him to congratulate or ask him for something. He waved them all away and the two men enforced it his bidding.   
This had been his dream for most of his life, but now he just wanted to find Attia and get back Outside.


	5. Avenging Angel

Rix woke every time he moved his leg. Attia didn’t sleep at all.   
“We’re close.” Attia told him when it was lights-on. “The wing is just beyond this forest.”  
“You’re sure?”   
“Yes.” She was, which surprised her.  
“Then let’s get a move on.” Rix pulled himself up using the cave wall.  
Attia fetched him a long stick to use as a cane and let him lean on her. It was slow-going, but it was better than staying still. Rix was slick with sweat by midday. Attia found an apple tree and fetched them enough to feed a family of ten. Rix ate as if he was famished. Despite an empty stomach Attia couldn’t eat. She was about to go kill a man.  
In another two hours they were out of the forest and in a corridor that led straight to the wing. Attia made Rix throw away the stick. She didn’t like the way it echoed when it clicked on the ground.   
“I want to get there before nightfall.” Attia told Rix.  
“Nightfall?”  
“Lights-out.” She switched back to prison terms.   
“Find me one of the old rooms, I’ll stay there. You can go on without me.” He clutched onto her coat. “Just promise to come back for me.”  
“Of course, Rix. I’ll come back for you.” She promised.  
They found him a dark room to hide in, then she was on her own.   
She moved much more quickly without him limping along beside her and begging her to stop every fifteen minutes. She reached the edge of the wing well before lights-out.   
“Who’re you?” A boy snuck up behind her.  
She whirled around, her hand at her knife.  
“Claudia.” She lied. “Who’re you?”  
“Hame.” He said. “I have to go. I’m looking for someone.”  
He ran off. Attia relaxed. She waited until lights-out and moved in. She remembered exactly where Jormanric’s quarters were. Two men stood on either side of the door, an unexpected obstacle. She hid around a corner and tried to figure out what to do.  
“You remember how he fights.” One of them said to the other. “Neither of us are that good.”  
“Neither of us are that crazy.” The other responded.   
They wanted to challenge Jormanric, Attia realized with a smile. She took a deep breath and turned the corner. They pointed their swords at her as soon as they saw her.  
“Who are you?” They asked in unsion.   
“The answer to your problems.” She smiled sweetly. “Just let me through.”  
“What?” They looked at each other.  
“Let me through. I’ll kill the Winglord, then whatever process takes place to choose the next one will take place and you both have a better chance.” She shrugged as if it was a simple solution.  
They looked her up and down.   
“You really think you can kill him?” One of them asked.  
“I have a lot of reasons to want him dead.” She answered.  
“What if she tells him we let her in?” They looked at each other again.  
She drew her knife. “It won’t matter, he’ll be dead.”  
Attia didn’t wait for them to make up their minds. She pushed past them and eased the door open, only wide enough for her to squeeze in. She flinched when it clicked shut behind her, but the body in the bed didn’t move. She let her eyes adjust to the dark before moving forward.  
She could make out his entire body under the blanket. He was taller than she remembered. His back was to her. Attia stopped at the edge of his bed and raised her knife.  
Before she knew what was happening she was rushed from behind and tackled onto the bed. Her knife went into the form under the blanket.  
Pillows, she thought, they’re just pillows.  
Her attacker whirled her around and pinned her arms above her head.  
“Attia?” A shocked voice said. “Why are you trying to kill me?”  
“Keiro?” She laughed in relief that it wasn’t Jormanric pinning her to the bed. “I thought you were Jormanric!  
She was really laughing now. He sat back, straddling her and let her laugh until tears ran down her cheeks. Keiro wiped away her tears with the corner of a blanket.  
“You should probably know that the two men guarding you want you dead.” She said, suddenly serious.  
“I know.” He rolled off of her and got up to light a candle.  
She sat on the edge of the bed. “So did you kill him for real this time?”  
“He’s locked up somewhere.” He shrugged and sat down next to her.   
“When are we killing him then?” She asked.  
“Attia, why do you want him dead so bad?” Keiro asked.  
She looked at him in shock. “I was his dog slave Keiro.”  
“Well now you’re mine and it doesn’t matter.”   
She slapped him across the face as hard as she could. He clenched his jaw in barely controlled anger.   
“Attia, don’t.” He warned.  
“He trapped me in a net and took me away from my family.” She was surprised when tears flooded her eyes. “I’m going to kill him and then go try and find them.”  
Keiro watched her coolly as she cried.   
“Fine.” He stood up and retrieved his jacket from the back of a chair. “Let’s go then.”   
Attia wiped her eyes and nose and followed him as he stormed out of the door. The men were gone.   
“Hame!” Keiro yelled at the top of his lungs.  
The boy who had found Attia in the corridor came running at the sound of his name. He looked at her with wide eyes.   
“What’re you doing here?” He asked her.  
“Hame, this is Attia.” Keiro said darkly.  
“No it isn’t, that’s Claudia.” Hame smiled.  
Keiro glared at Attia, she shrugged back.  
“Take us to Jormanric.” Keiro demanded.  
Hame led them down a corridor until they came to a room with a large lock on its thick wooden door. Keiro took the key from a guard and unlocked it. The door swung open to reveal a weak and injured former Winglord huddling on the floor. He flinched when Keiro swung his torch down so they could get a better look at him.  
“Go ahead, Attia. Do it.” Keiro handed her his sword.   
Attia took it in a steady hand and raised it above her head. Jormanric looked away from her, he didn’t want to watch the sword swing toward him before he died.   
“Look at me.” Attia said.  
He didn’t move.  
“Look at me!” She half screamed, half cried.  
He turned his head, but wouldn’t look up at her face. Attia kicked him in the face with all her strength. He fell over, unconscious. Her legs were weak as she handed Keiro his sword and walked from the room. She kept going when she reached the hallway, not caring which way she went. Keiro followed her closely.  
He didn’t say anything until they were out of the wing. Attia had taken the same route out as she had taken in. They would find Rix soon.  
“Attia, you tried to keep me from killing that chain-gang. What made you think you could kill Jormanric?” Keiro asked.  
“He ruined my life.” Attia sniffed.  
“I wouldn’t say ruined.” Keiro smiled at her. “You never would have met me if it weren’t for him.”  
Attia didn’t even look at him.  
“Or Finn, or Claudia. You never would have gotten out of here.” He added.  
“Why did you even come after me?” She sounded bitter.  
“Why wouldn’t I?” He sounded confused.  
Attia didn’t answer. They had come up to the room that Rix was in. She went in and dragged him out. Keiro stared at him in disbelief.  
“You’ve got to be kidding.” He shook his head.  
“Help me with him. His leg is hurt.” She explained what had happened as they pulled him back to the wing.  
Once there they ate and rested. Attia wanted to leave as soon as possible.  
“I have to get Rix back to the Warden so I can go take care of something else.” She told Keiro.  
“I might be able to help with that.” He left her alone with Rix for nearly an hour while he went to fetch his winged horse.  
“It’s the Warden’s.” He explained. “Rix can take it and we’ll go do your other thing. Then we’ll go home.”  
“Home is my other thing, Keiro.” Attia mumbled. “You go with Rix. I’m going to go find my brothers and sisters.”  
“What?” Keiro laughed.  
“I’m going to go find my brothers and sisters.” She said louder than necessary.  
“You’re serious.” He said.  
“Yes.”  
“You do realize Claudia will never let me live it down if I come back without you.” He slicked back his hair.   
Attia just looked at him.   
“I’m leaving at lights-on.”   
“I look forward to meeting your family.” Keiro said.  
“What?” Attia asked.  
“Well, I’m assuming you’ll be bringing them out when you find them. Better life and all that.” Keiro waved a hand as if he didn’t really care about any of it.  
“Right.” She said. The idea hadn’t actually occurred to her.  
“Also I’m coming with you.”   
“No you aren’t.”  
“You can’t go by yourself.” Keiro stood up. “I’ll go feed the horse thing.”  
He left for a long time. Enough time for Attia to fall asleep with her head on the table and Rix to finish two more bowls of soup before falling asleep too. When Attia woke up the lights were already on and Keiro was just returning.  
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” She asked him.  
“I tried.”  
“Liar.” She stood up and shrugged on her coat. “Why were you gone so long? Did you find some desperate Comitatus girl to sneak off with?”  
He smirked at her. “Desperate?”  
“She’d have to be.”   
“Who’s lying now?”  
“Still you.”   
He dropped a bag on the table. “I got us a horse.”  
“Why are you trying to take care of me?” She whispered.  
“Somebody’s got to. Finn doesn’t want to anymore, and Claudia is taking care of her Father, so you’re my slave dog now.” He wasn’t making a joke.  
Attia swung at him. He dodged it but let out a growl and jumped her. She wouldn’t fight him, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of beating her struggle.   
“I’m not your dog slave.” She said simply. “I’m not anyone’s dog slave.”  
He held her against the wall, his body pressed tight against hers. She was breathing rapidly, afraid of his scorn. He grunted and let her go.   
“Do you even remember where your family is?” He asked.  
She looked at the ground, afraid to tell him she didn’t.  
Keiro laughed. She looked up at him, nearly ready to try and hit him again.   
“This is why you need me, Attia.” He pulled something out from a pocket inside his jacket.  
“What’s this?” Attia took it from him.   
It took her a moment to recognize it, but when she did she was furious. She turned away from him and gripped the book in her hands.  
“I didn’t read it.” Keiro said defensively.   
Attia took a deep breath through her nose and closed her eyes.  
“Attia, really.” He stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder.   
She couldn’t take it anymore, she swung around and hit him and the face with the book all about her life.  
“Bitch!” He grunted.  
Attia pushed him back. “Why did you take it?”  
“I thought it might help me find you.” He rubbed his jaw where she had hit him.  
“You knew where I was going.” She pushed him again.  
“Maybe I was curious.” He stepped towards her.  
“It’s none of your business where I came from or what I was doing before you knew me, Keiro. It’s nobody’s business.”  
“What are you hiding?” Keiro smiled.  
“Why do you care?”   
“I don’t.”   
Attia shoved the book into her shirt, where he couldn’t get to it.  
“You aren’t going to use it to find out where to go?” Keiro asked.  
“Not while you’re around.” She shouldered a bag and stood by the door, waiting for Keiro to lead the way to the horse.  
He stared at her a moment before putting his own bag over his shoulder and shoving his way past her. The horse he had found for them was strikingly similar to the horse they had used when they were escaping.   
“You should know, where I came from is pretty bad. Worse than here.” There was no emotion in Attia’s voice as Keiro hauled her onto the horse behind him.  
“Maybe it’s one of the place Jared’s started fixing. It would make sense for him to start at the worst places.” Keiro said.  
“Who knows how bad some of the wings are? We’ve been a lot of places, but not everywhere.” Attia had little choice but to wrap her arms around Keiro’s waist. She knew how fast he liked to ride and she didn’t want to fall off.   
“So what’s the plan? We just ride until you find a moment alone to look in your little book and see if it tells us where to go?” Keiro asked.  
“Go that way.” Attia pointed to her left. She didn’t know why, but she never forgot which way she had been dragged from.   
Keiro looked at her over his shoulder.  
“I just know.” She answered before he could ask his question.   
He nodded and kicked the horse.


	6. On the Way

“I thought Jared was supposed to be fixing this place?” Keiro grunted.   
They had been riding for almost half a day. Attia was already growing sore. Her life outside had softened her, but as usual, Keiro didn’t seem even a bit uncomfortable.   
“He’s trying.” She looked over his shoulder to see what he was seeing. “He can fix the prison. The prisoners are another story.”   
Ahead of them was a burning building. A group of people were gathered around in front of it yelling.   
Keiro slowed the horse as they approached. Attia gripped him tighter without even thinking about it. As they got closer Attia realized their yelling was rhythmic and uniform. They were chanting.  
“Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!” The group screamed.   
“Stop.” Attia said.  
“What?” Keiro hissed. He had steered the horse away from the group and kept it at a slow pace as if that would keep them from being noticed.  
“Stop the horse.” Attia tried to grasp the reigns but he held them away from her.  
“Why would I do that?”   
“We should see what’s going on.” She swatted his shoulder.  
“I’m afraid you’re more curious than I am, Attia. I don’t care to know why someone’s about to die.” Keiro grunted.  
They were going slow enough that Attia was able to slip off of the horse and land on her feet. She hit the ground running and was halfway to the group before Keiro even noticed that she wasn’t on the horse anymore.  
“Attia!” He yelled and kicked the horse to run after her.  
They had the attention of some of the members of the group now. By the time Attia reached the edge of the crowd the chanting had died down completely. Attia could hear grunting and the pounding of flesh against flesh as she pushed her way through the crowd. They parted easily for Keiro and his horse.  
“Hey!” He shouted at the men in the middle of the crowd.   
There were three men beating on a fourth man. He was nearly unconscious, with barely enough strength to hold his arms up to protect his head. Attia rushed forward and tried to pull one of them away. He turned around, took one look at her and punched her hard in the face.   
Keiro jumped off his horse and pulled his sword. He yanked on the hair of the man who had hit her and held the blade to his throat.  
“Stop or we get to find out what the inside of his throat looks like.” Keiro’s voice was acidic.   
The other two men glared at him but backed away from their victim with their hands up. Attia crawled to him, her nose dripping blood. It was nothing compared to the amount of blood oozing out of the man on the ground. She pulled his arms down to look at his face. He groaned at the movement. Both eyes were swollen shut.  
“What did he do?” Keiro asked calmly.  
“He’s been stealing.” The man with Keiro’s blade to his throat answered.  
“Stealing what?” Attia asked from the ground.  
“Food, clothes, valuables, you name it, he stole it.” Someone yelled from the crowd.  
“And that’s a good reason to kill him?” Attia shouted.  
Even Keiro flinched at her outburst. Everyone was looking at each other. Keiro sighed and pushed the man away from him.   
“Attia.” He knelt down next to her.  
“They shouldn’t kill him.” Attia sniffled. Blood and tears were mixing on her chin.   
“We’re inside again, Attia.” He whispered for only her to hear. “That’s how things are here.”  
“It shouldn’t be.” She was moving her hand gently ove the man’s body, covering her in his blood up to her wrists.  
“Attia.” Keiro pinched the bridge of his nose. “We don’t have time for this. Pull yourself together.”  
Attia’s hands stopped moving.  
“I don’t know why I ever-“ She stopped talking and started laughing, almost hysterically.   
“Why you ever what?” He sighed.  
“We have to help him.” She changed the subject.  
“No we don’t.” Keiro pinned Attia’s arms behind her and dragged her to the horse. Attia kicked and screamed the whole way. He threw her over the saddle and climbed up behind her.   
“Do what you want.” Keiro called to the crowd.   
Attia struggled to get herself off of the horse. Keiro kept a firm hand on the back of her neck to keep her in place. When they could no longer hear the yelling of the crowd she gave up her struggles. Keiro stopped the horse and let her slide down before pulling her back up behind him. She remained silent until nightfall when they stopped.  
“I’ll be right back.” Attia muttered and disappeared behind a rock.  
“So, either you aren’t relieving yourself or you are and I need to find you a healer.” He said after she had been gone for over an hour.  
There was no answer.  
“Attia?” He asked, his voice loaded with concern.  
He circled the rock and found her just in time to see her stuff her book back into her shirt.   
“Oh.” He realized.   
She wiped tears from her cheeks quickly and stood up.  
“You cry too much.” He went back to the other side of the rock and sat down by the fire he built.  
“Please don’t.” Attia sat next to him. She sounded tired.find out when we get there?”  
“You okay?” He asked. It sounded awkward coming from him.  
“I just want to sleep now.” She curled up on the ground with her back to him.  
“Did you find out where we’re going?” He asked.  
“Yes.”  
“Where?”   
“You’ll find out when we get there.”   
“You aren’t okay.” He stood up and moved so she was facing him.  
“What do you care?”  
“I don’t.” He shrugged.  
“You never do.” She rolled away from him.   
Keiro laid back and looked up. He was almost surprised not to see the stars. Instead he saw a red light. It was hard to think that it was Jared that was watching him now. Keiro looked at Attia and back up at the light with his eyebrows raised in question. The red eye twinkled.


	7. Home Sweet Home

When Keiro woke up Attia was already packed and ready to go. He didn’t say anything as he climbed onto the horse and pulled her up.  
“That way.” Attia pointed straight ahead.  
Keiro kicked the horse into a gallop.  
They rode as fast as they could for two days. The half-robotic horse didn’t tire easily. Keiro stayed quiet. Attia tried more than once to make conversation but he only grunted in response.  
“Did I do something to anger you?” She asked as they sat around the fire on the evening of their second day.  
“Of course not.” He said flatly.  
“Why are you being so quiet?” She threw a piece of hard bread at him.   
Keiro shrugged. “Sometimes I just don’t have anything to say.”  
“We’ll be there tomorrow.” She ignored his excuses.  
“I can’t wait to finally meet your family.” His voice dripped with sarcasm. “You talk about them so much that I feel I already know them.”  
“It was never any of your business.” Attia hugged her knees against herself, trying to block the cold night air.  
“You know all my family secrets.” He shrugged off his royal blue jacket and offered it to her.  
“What? That you don’t have one?” She ignored his offer and settled onto her back in the leaves that littered the metal floor.  
The landscape, that usually shifted suddenly, had been gradually growing sparse of trees. They were approaching what looked like a giant metal wall. Attia knew that once they reached it, it would look much more like a honeycomb full of holes. Keiro pulled his jacket back on and laid down too. They were quiet for the rest of the night, though neither of them slept.

“How many siblings do you have?” Keiro asked after they had set off again the next morning.  
“Two brothers and two sisters.” She yawned. “I’m the youngest.”  
“And they let you get kidnapped?”   
“It wasn’t their fault.” She snapped at him. “I wasn’t supposed to leave the tunnels, but they were so crowded. I got caught in a net by your lovely friends.”   
“I wasn’t there. Don’t act like it was my fault.”  
“You certainly didn’t do anything to stop it.”  
“Hey! I let you come along with us when we left!” Their voices were rising as their tempers flared.  
“Against your better judgment.” Attia removed her hands from his waste and crossed them in front of her.   
“Well if I had insisted we leave you behind then I would be Outside feasting on eggs and toast with jam instead of taking abuse from you!”  
“You never would have made it Outside if it weren’t for me! So you can take your eggs and toast with jam and sho-“  
Keiro held a hand up to stop her. He put a finger to his lips and slid from the horse almost completely silently. Attia scooted forward on the saddle and gripped the reigns, prepared to kick him into action if necessary. Keiro pulled his sword, wincing at the sound it made as the metal scraped against the scabbard.   
“Don’t move.” Someone said from the bushes. They heard the whir of a firelock.  
“Drop your sword.” A new voice came from the other side of the road. This one a woman.  
“Tell the girl to get off the horse.” The first voice commanded.  
Keiro lowered his sword and let it fall to the ground. “Tell her yourself. She never listens to me.”   
“Good for her.” The woman said. “I always told her never to listen to men who dress better than her.”  
Attia was off the horse and in the arms of a taller, tanner version of herself before Keiro could blink.   
“Sameah!” She laughed.  
“Attia! We thought the worst.” The older woman had tears in her eyes as she held Attia at an arm’s length away. “We thought you were dead.”   
“Not dead. Almost, a few times.” Attia laughed again.  
The man with the firelock stepped out of the bushes and smiled at the reunited sisters.   
“No need to hog to yourself Sameah.” In two steps he was at their sides and swinging Attia up into a hug.  
“Deeno!” Attia wrapped her arms around his neck. “Since when do you have a firelock?”  
“Since things have been looking up. One morning we woke up and the tunnels were different. Wider, brighter, cleaner! It’s amazing, just wait until you see it.” He set her back down on the ground and held her face between his hands. “What happened to you?”  
Attia looked away from her brother and found Keiro, standing quietly by the horse. His brow was furrowed and he was frowning at her.  
“A lot of stuff.” She took his hands in hers and pulled them from her face. “Where are the others? I’d rather not tell this story more than once.”  
They led them the rest of the way to the wall, and then into it through a door at its base. On the other side of the door was a huge open area, full of colorful stalls and people who looked and sounded happy.   
“This place used to be cramped and dark.” Attia said to Keiro. “And it smelled like pee.”  
“Looks like Jared’s doing his job after all.” Keiro chuckled.  
Attia smiled at him, her eyes brighter than he’d ever seen them. She looked around at familiar faces in a new setting. “They used to be sad.”  
“There were two kinds of lives you could have down here.” Keiro bit into an apple he had snatched from a passing cart. “Sad and scared, or angry and scared.”  
“Stealing again already?” She halfheartedly admonished him.  
“Old habits die hard.” He offered her the apple and she took it.  
Deeno and Sameah led them through the crowd and into a corridor.  
“We used to have to crawl through these.” Attia laughed at the memory.  
“That sounds worse than anything the Comitatus put you through. If you ask me being a dog slave was an upgrade.” Keiro snickered.  
Deeno whirled around, his hand balled in a fist ready to punch him. Attia jumped between them before her brother angered Keiro and got seriously hurt for it.  
“He was joking, Deeno. He didn’t mean it, he’s sorry.” Attia held her hands up, trying to calm him.   
“I wouldn’t say that.” Keiro muttered behind her.  
“Who is this guy, Attia? Why is he here?” Deeno lowered his arm but kept his hand in a fist.  
“I’ll explain everything. Let’s just keep going.” Her voice was calming. “Take me home, Deeno.”  
His glare softened into a smile. He threw his arm over his little sister’s shoulders and ushered her forward. The three sibling walked side-by-side, leaving Keiro to walk alone behind them. He considered turning back and going back to where there was food and lots of people, letting Attia catch up with her family. She could come and find him when she was ready to go back. But in the end he followed her all the way to the place where she was born and grew up, though now it was radically different from what she knew.  
Her other two siblings were no less enthusiastic about her arrival. Her oldest brother, Gurst, introduced her to his wife and new baby. Her other sister, Piva, greeted her enthusiastically before running back to her kitchen to fetch them some pies. Keiro stood off to the side, watching her reunite with her siblings and waiting eagerly for the pie.  
When they all settled down she told them her story, from the moment she left the safety of their tunnels to that morning. She left out the part about Keiro being a halfman, and all of the times he threatened to leave her behind or let her die. By the end of her tale they were looking at him with something almost like admiration in their eyes.   
They asked her about the stars and Jared and the Warden. They flooded her with questions. Keiro had noticed, even as she was telling her story, that her eyes were growing heavy. He stepped forward when they started asking questions and sat next to her. Most of their queries were directed at her, but he answered what he could. In no time at all she was sleeping deeply with her head on his shoulder.  
“Oh look, we’ve put her to sleep.” Piva clucked. “Get her in my house, I have a spare bed. Keiro, you can stay with Deeno.”  
The women pulled Attia away from him and swept her away into a house. Deeno motioned for Keiro to follow him.  
“Thanks.” He said after he had shown Keiro where to sleep.  
“For what?” Keiro asked lazily.  
“For helping her, and whatever else you did.” Deeno shrugged.  
“No need to thank me. I think she and I are pretty even at this point.” Keiro settled onto the bed, thankful to be on something other than the ground for a night.  
He slept more than he had in the last three nights combined. It wasn’t until Attia came in sat on his bed that he stirred from sleep.  
“Rise and shine. You’re sleeping the day away.” She shook his shoulder gently.  
“I’m tired.” He groaned into his pillow.  
“There’s going to be a picnic tonight, to celebrate my homecoming. You’re a guest of honor so you have to get up and get clean.” Attia pulled his blanket away. “Sameah offered to clean your clothes so I brought you some of Deeno’s to wear until they’re dry. Hurry up and change so Gurst can show you where the pools are.”  
“Pools?” Keiro asked.  
“Yes, underground pools full of warm water and soap.” Attia said on her way out the door. “Jared’s more creative than I thought.”  
Keiro spent more time in the pools than anyone thought he would. By the time he reappeared his clothes were long dry and people were already showing up for the picnic. Attia was lost in conversation with some mammoth of a man who reminded Keiro of Finn. If Finn’s mother had been a rhinoceros.   
“Who’s that?” Keiro asked Gurst as they helped themselves to salted pork.  
“His name’s Birk. He and Attia were sweethearts before she disappeared.” He explained.  
“Sweethearts, huh?” Keiro chuckled. “I always thought she was too independent for a sweetheart.”  
‘Really?” Gurst studied his face, looking for any sign that he was joking. “You’re serious?”  
“Have a lot of sweethearts, did she?” Keiro smiled.  
“No. Just Birk, I guess.” Gurst shrugged.  
“You guess?”  
“Well, I actually thought you two were together.”  
“Us?” Keiro almost choked on his pork. “No offense meant, Gurst, but your little sister is the most annoying little brat I’ve ever met.”  
“You, on the other hand, are perfect.” Gurst smirked.  
Deeno found them and joined their table, his plate piled high with food.  
“Did you think Attia and Keiro were together?” Gurst asked him.  
“Yes. Aren’t they?” Deeno’s face was already full of food.  
“No.” Keiro grunted. “And I don’t understand why you both thought that.”  
The brothers looked at each other and shrugged.   
“I guess that explains why Attia just snuck away with Birk.” Deeno said.  
“What?” Keiro asked, more quickly than he meant to. “It’s lights out soon. What is she thinking?”  
“Probably something like ‘I’m a grown woman, I can do as I please’.” Gurst said, mocking her voice.  
“We’ll leave the torches on. She’ll be fine.” Deeno dismissed Keiro’s worry.  
The three of them pretended to have moved on from the topic of Attia, but Keiro had gotten into their heads and worry started to show on all of their faces. Without speaking they all decided to stay out until she was home and safe. Her brothers suddenly realized that they didn’t like Birk all that much. He certainly wasn’t a man they wanted out in the dark with their baby sister. They found a wall to lean against that gave them a good view of where the couple had snuck off to. Their conversation had died down completely, but they stayed there at that wall until Attia came bursting out of the darkness.   
Attia was holding the tatters of her shirt against her chest. Her brothers and Keiro grew tense when they saw her. She could feel Keiro’s eyes on her, analyzing her. Even as her brothers were asking what was wrong, Keiro was pulling off his blue velvet jacket and eyeing the trees. He draped the jacket over her bare shoulder.  
“Did he?” He buttoned the jacket closed.  
“No.” She sniffed and wiped a tear away angrily.  
“But he tried.” His eyes were cold. “And trying is enough.”  
Keiro took a torch from the wall behind him, but he didn’t take two steps before the huge man barreled out of the darkness, blood pouring from his recently disfigured nose.  
“That little b-.” He was cut off by Keiro hitting him in the mouth with the flaming end of the torch.  
The man stumbled back, but rallied quickly, angrier than before. Keiro kicked him in the stomach so hard he fell back onto the seat of his pants. Another kick, this time in the face, put him on his back. Keiro put his foot on the man’s throat.  
“You made a mistake.” Keiro growled.  
The man couldn’t answer for lack of breath. Keiro didn’t care, he brought the torch down once more to knock him out.   
A small group had gathered. Keiro didn’t know if it was his anger of Attia’s tears that kept them at bay. Attia was on the ground now. Gurst knelt a few feet away. Keiro tried to approach her, but she crawled away from him and let out a sob. Piva and Sameah rushed forward and pulled Attia to them. They helped her inside, but when Keiro tried to follow they slammed the door in his face.


	8. Aftermath

Keiro didn’t sleep that night. Instead he spent more time than necessary to make sure their things were ready for the trip back.  
Shortly after he had been denied entrance to Piva’s house Gurst and Deeno slipped in, leaving him alone. It irked him that she wouldn’t let him in. He was the one who beat the man who tried to take advantage of her. Didn’t he deserve to at least hear what happened?  
Birk’s unconscious body had been dragged away and locked in some cell somewhere. Keiro made it clear that if he ever saw him again he would kill him. The men who had taken him seemed to understand, but they also seemed frightened of Keiro’s anger.  
At lights on Keiro banged on Piva’s door. It was opened almost immediately by Attia. She put her hand on his chest and pushed him away, pulling the door closed behind her.  
“Quiet, you’ll wake them.” She was still wearing his jacket, but underneath it she wore a soft grey dress.  
Keiro smirked. She hated dresses and he knew it.  
“I’ve made sure everything’s ready. We can leave whenever.”  
Attia looked at the ground. She cleared her throat in a way that made him anxious. Abruptly, she turned away from him and walked towards Gurst’s empty house. He didn’t move to follow her until she was inside and holding the door open expectantly.  
“I’m staying.” She muttered so quietly he convinced himself he heard her wrong.  
“What?” He asked, his smile poisonous, warning her to change her statement.  
“I’m staying here.” She said more boldly.  
“Don’t be ridiculous.” He laughed sharply. “You almost got raped last night. You freaked out when those men tried to kill the thief. You don’t want prison life, Attia.”  
“This is where my family is.” She was growing defensive. It offended her that he thought she couldn’t handle living in the prison. She grew up here, just like he did. She had been through just as much as him, if not more.  
“Then they can come outside. I’m sure Jared will fast-track them through his little application process if he knows they’re your brothers and sisters.” Keiro seemed to think he had settled the matter because he moved to get their things.  
Attia grabbed his arm, squeezing harder than necessary when she yanked him to face her again.  
“This is our home.” She hissed.  
In the back of her mind Attia thought that he was right. They could all go Outside, but she hated the way he was speaking to her. Hated the way he had always spoken to her. She was done with him. Done with Finn’s politics and Claudia’s dresses. She would miss them, she knew that. But it wasn’t as though she would never see them again.  
“I won’t be a prisoner again.” Keiro’s voice sounded like it was made of steel, just like the nail on his right hand.  
“I didn’t ask you to stay. I don’t want you to stay.” Attia released him and took a step back. “You’re just a connection to Outside that I don’t want around. Just like you were a connection to Inside when we were there.”  
“Why didn’t you tell me a long time ago how painful my presence was for you? I would have made myself scarce.” With every sentence he uttered his voice turned into more of a growl.  
“You did make yourself scarce, Keiro.” She opened the door. “Please, just go. I need you to just go.”  
“What about Finn and Claudia?” He didn’t move.  
“I’m not really that far away. We’ll keep in touch.” She shrugged. “And this will be good for me. I need to get away from Finn. From their relationship.”  
She was over Finn, but the pain of him choosing another over herself, however minute, was something she felt every time they snuck a kiss or held hands.  
“Why do you still care about him? He doesn’t care about you.”  
“He saved me.” It was the only answer she had.  
“What about me?” His voice was gruff.  
“What about you?”  
“What about all of the times I saved you?”  
“Keiro, I know you want everyone to love you. I get it. You need it. They either have to love you because you are perfect or hate you because you are better than them. But you don’t care about anyone but yourself, so it’s very hard to care about you.” Attia couldn’t look at him. She wasn’t shy about berating him and criticizing him, but this seemed so personal. She wasn’t yelling at him, calling him a selfish blockhead, she was telling him that she didn’t care about him. Even though it was something he had told her many times before she still felt bad.  
Perhaps because it wasn’t true. Not in the least.  
Keiro stepped up to her, closer than she expected him to. When he looked down at her and met her gaze it was as if a veil had dropped. Keiro had removed his mask for her.  
“Look at me, Attia. Look at me and tell me I only care about myself.”  
Keiro’s cool, blue eyes were usually so calm, but now they were so full of emotions that Attia felt overwhelmed.  
“I can’t.” Her voice was soft, but he heard her.  
She brushed past him and walked out the door.  
Keiro collected his things. He picked his way through the corridors until he reached the big room with all of the vendors. For a moment he considered taking a detour to find a woman to keep him company, but he knew that would only intensify the hurt of being abandoned by one of the only people he trusted. A red eye twinkled above him.  
“Don’t.” Keiro grunted. “She made her choice.”  
The eye snaked down and stopped a few inches from his face.  
“Jared, she’s the one who wants to stay in this God-forsaken place and I’m not going to drag her out by her hair.”  
The eye bobbed.  
“Can we talk about this when you’re a person and not a little red light that brings back really bad memories?” He swatted the eye away and went to find his horse.  
He traveled much more swiftly now that he was alone, but his back felt bare. Jared didn’t bother to look up from his desk when he heard his footsteps echo off the walls.  
“You made the right choice.” He said, still writing on a yellowed piece of paper.  
“I still can’t believe you had another statue made.” Keiro snickered. He crossed his arms and stood in front of the new likeness of Jared.  
“You know how superstitious some of the prisoners are.” Jared waved away his comment. “Don’t try to change the subject.”  
“I didn’t leave because it was the right choice. I left because I refuse to stay here.” Keiro walked over to the desk and sat on the edge.  
“Sure.” Jared smirked.  
“Is Claudia still down here?” Keiro asked, not that he intended to wait for her if she was.  
“No, she took her Father Outside to get him better care.”  
“In that case, I’m off.” He pushed away from the desk and walked to the spot in the floor that would let him out.  
“My door’s always open, Keiro.” Jared called after him.  
Keiro chuckled but didn’t look back.

Attia held her nephew and smiled. He was perfect and she was just happy she had gotten back in time to see him like this. Gurst sat next to her, mending his old leather boots.  
“Do you ever wish you could go Outside?” She asked absent-mindedly.  
“Maybe sometime. Not right now. This place is enough for me right now.” He shrugged.  
Her brother wasn’t adventurous, she knew that. None of them were. They had been taught from a young age that curiosity was dangerous. Staying close to each other, and close to home, was the only way they were going to stay safe.  
Attia was beginning to realize that, while that was mostly true, it had a few flaws. The first was that you could be hurt close to home. The second was that staying safe wasn’t always worth it. She had turned herself into a dog slave to stay safe. She didn’t regret it, it had kept her alive and played a part in her escape. But it was a scar in her memory.  
Helping Keiro beat Jormanric had been the first thing she did to mindfully put herself in harm’s way. She knew that if she had to make the decision again she wouldn’t hesitate.  
Thinking about it made her heart ache. She actually yearned for the times when she was following Finn to the ends of the earth. She hugged the baby close. She had made her choice. Nothing would make her change her mind. Not the pull of adventure. Not the ache in the pit of her stomach that she knew was longing for her friends.  
Not things she imagined when she tried to picture the look in Keiro’s eyes before she left him. And before he left her.


	9. Home is...

It had been two years since Attia had moved back into the prison and she was falling apart. This place was supposed to be her home. It was where her family was. But every time she went back Outside for whatever reason, Finn and Claudia’s wedding, the Warden’s funeral, even just short visits, it got harder to go back in.   
Attia wanted to cry, but she didn’t. She just stared at her hands. Gradually, as if the thought belonged in her mind and was just making its way back, she thought of a different pair of hands.   
Hands that had hit her, pulled her, and pushed her. Hands that had held her, comforted her, and saved her. A hand that had a part of Incarceron in it. A part of her home. A hand marred with a scar from a burn. The very hand the pulled her Outside.  
The only times she had ever felt truly secure was when she was with him.   
Attia stood up and looked around the one room hut that had become her house. There nothing there she needed. Only his blue jacket. The jacket he had given to her. She pulled it on as she rushed to the door.   
Jared had brought her a letter three days ago from Claudia. Her baby was due in three months and she wanted Attia there for at least the last month. Attia just made the decision that she would be there for the last three.   
Jared seemed surprised to see her when she stormed up to his desk.   
“Goodbye.” She waved at him dismissively and went to the hole in the floor.   
Jared watched her go with his mouth hanging open.  
Attia often forgot about all of the finery in the palace when she spent too much time in her hut. Even the servants looked nicer than her. Fortunately they recognized her and let her right in.   
Claudia was the first person she found.  
“You’re early!” Claudia beamed. Her large tummy made the hug difficult, but it made Attia feel even more confident in her decision. She needed to be here right now.  
“I got your letter yesterday and I decided this is where I want to be.” They gripped each other’s hands. “I wouldn’t miss this baby’s birth for the World.”  
“Well we still have about three months. But I’m so excited that you’re back.” She hugged her again.   
“Where’s Finn?”   
“Oh in some meeting. He should be out soon, he’ll be so happy to see you.” Claudia hooked their arms and led her to the rooms they kept reserved for her.  
“And Keiro?”  
Claudia cleared her throat. “He’s somewhere.”  
“Somewhere?” Attia stopped in her tracks and held tight to her arm to make her stop too.  
“I haven’t seen him for many months, Attia.” Claudia sounded truly sorry. “Finn said he expects him back soon, though.”  
“Where has he gone?”  
“Oh,” She pulled Attia after her, “here and there. He hasn’t really stayed in one place very long since the Big Mistake.”  
“The Big Mistake?” Attia asked.  
“That’s what he calls your decision to stay.” Claudia chuckled nervously.  
“That arrogant, pigheaded, blockhead.” Attia grunted.  
“Not talking about me, I hope.” Finn came up behind them and threw an arm over each of their shoulders.  
“Of course not, my Dear.” Claudia kissed his cheek.  
“So you’re talking about my dear brother.” He looked at Attia.  
“He’s an idiot.” Attia huffed.  
“Tell me something I don’t know.”   
They found their way to Attia’s rooms and settled in to catch up. She told them how her siblings and Jared were and described some of the biggest changes, but there was nothing more in her life to catch them up on. They told her about their lives until the sun went down. When they finally tired out and left Attia changed into a nightgown.  
It was thin and fell to her mid-thigh, the sleeves only covered her shoulders. It was perfect for the warm summer night, but she took her jacket just in case. She made her way through the castle, down a familiar path that led to the roof. Once there she sat with her legs dangling over the ledge and the jacket draped over her knees.  
She loved the view from up here. The way the moon shone off of the lake made her forget her problems. It also allowed her to see Keiro ride up on his horse. His hair was shorter than it was the last time she had seen him. At the Warden’s funeral.  
He had been shrouded in black, just like everyone else, but it was weird seeing it on him. He hadn’t spoken to her, but she didn’t miss the glares he shot at her. Now he was in black, gold, and red. She let out an unexpected sigh.  
Keiro left his horse with a stable hand and marched toward the castle. Attia willed him to look up, just for a second. Just long enough to see her. But his eyes never left the castle door.   
She would just have to wait until the morning at breakfast. Or she could go find him now. She stood up quickly and pulled on the jacket.   
The path from the roof to Keiro’s room was less familiar than the path to her own but she made it there quickly. She knocked lightly on the door and waited. No one answered and she was about to knock again when she heard a giggle from around the corner.   
“You aren’t very Princely.” The giggler said coyly.   
“Well you aren’t much of a Lady.” The Prince answered back, his voice was flat and unamused.  
Attia didn’t want to believe it, but when Keiro walked around the corner with his arm around a blonde. The very blonde he was with the night she left. He stopped in his tracks when he saw her making the girl stumble forward a bit.  
“Keiro! What are you doing?” She squealed and looked up at Attia. “Ew, who are you?”  
“Attia?” There was finally amusement in his voice. “Why are you standing in front of my room in a nightgown?”  
He withdrew his arm from the other girl and stepped forward with his arms crossed.  
“And my jacket.”   
“It’s my jacket now.” She crossed her own arms. “You gave it to me.”  
“To borrow.” He held out his hand, palm up. “I want it back.”  
“You can’t be serious.”   
“I am.” He stepped forward.  
Attia groaned but pulled the jacket off and hung it on his crooked finger. The nightgown that had been perfect for her an hour ago now left her feeling exposed. She crossed her arms again, this time in an effort for modesty.   
“Now. What are you doing in front of my room in nothing but a nightgown?” He took another step towards her.  
“Returning your jacket.” She said flatly, pivoted, and walked away.   
She heard the door open and slam behind her.  
“Keiro?” Lady Clarissa pounded on the door. “Keiro! Let me in!”  
Attia fought a smile, but it came anyway.

 

Breakfast did not go as Attia had planned. She had gotten up early to bathe and have one of the maids do her hair. She even wore a dress. It was simple, and a little more form fitting than she was used to, but it was purple and bright and she thought Keiro would like it.   
Finn and Claudia were already there, sipping on coffee. Finn coughed his drink when he saw Attia’s dress.  
“You look amazing!” Claudia squealed.   
Attia blushed and took her place across from her friend.   
“You’re wearing a dress.” Finn snorted. “Why are you wearing a dress?”  
“Don’t be an idiot, Giles.” Claudia swatted at him.  
He looked from Attia to Claudia and back again.   
“Okay.” He gave up.  
They sat making small talk for nearly half an hour before a maid came in and informed them that the food was getting cold.  
“We’ll give him five more minutes.” Finn sighed.  
Claudia’s stomach growled loudly.  
“Bring the food.” Finn yelled after the maid.   
Five minutes later they were presented with an array of sweet meats, fruit, and eggs. There was more food on the table than Attia had eaten in the last three weeks. They dug in, mostly no longer concerned with Keiro’s absence.  
When he finally showed up he was disgruntled. His hair was a mess and all he wore was a loose-fitting shirt, that he didn’t even bother to button up all the way, and a pair of brown pants. His feet were bare and his eyes were bloodshot. He collapsed in the chair next to Attia and immediately piled his plate full of beef. He took Attia’s water glass and drank it all in one gulp.   
“You’re hung over.” Finn observed.  
“Am I?” The sarcasm was lost on no one.   
“Is Lady Clarissa in as bad a shape as you?” Attia asked nonchalantly.  
“I wouldn’t know. But thanks for asking.” He smiled sweetly at her. “I’ll let her know you were concerned the next time I see her.”  
“How kind.” She returned his fake smile. “More water?”  
She held up the pitcher of water and offered it to him. He grunted and held up his now empty cup. She tipped the pitcher and poured the water right into his lap. He didn’t even flinch, just moved the cup under the steady stream of water and let it fill to the brim.   
“Thanks.” He grumbled.  
“Don’t mention it.” She set the empty pitcher back onto the table.  
Claudia and Finn were staring at their two friends with their mouths hanging open.  
“Giles.” Claudia stuffed another forkful of eggs into her mouth. “We have a meeting with the Sapient about the baby.”  
She downed the rest of her orange juice and pulled him from the room, leaving Attia with a brooding Keiro.  
“How have you been?” She shoveled scrambled eggs around her plate with her fork.  
“Busy.”   
“Claudia said she hadn't seen you for a while.”  
“I've been traveling. Looking for the perfect place to build that castle Finn promised me.” They were both playing with the food on their plate.   
“Any luck?”   
“No.” Keiro dropped his fork and it clattered against his plate. His put his hands to his head at the noise. Attia put her hand on the back of his neck. Her fingers were cool and his neck was warm.  
They stayed like that for some time. Attia running her fingers through the soft hair at the nape of his neck.  
“Are you here to stay?” He asked to break the silence.  
“I don’t know.” She stood up and walked to the door.  
“I like your dress.” He said before she closed the door.  
“But you don’t need it.” He said after she closed it.


	10. ... Where the Heart Is

Keiro left again two days after he returned. Attia had been walking down to breakfast when she saw him rushing to the door, dressed for a ride.  
“Are you going for a ride?” She asked.  
He looked up at her. “Yes.”  
He sounded out of breath.  
“In a hurry?” She smiled. “Going to meet Clarissa?”  
“No! And yes.” He was fidgeting with his riding glove. “Or rather yes, and no.”  
Attia chewed on her lip to keep from smiling at how flustered he was.  
“Yes, I’m in a hurry. No, I’m not going to meet Clarissa.” He clarified.  
“Well, have a good ride.” She shrugged and turned back in the direction of the dining room.  
“I- yes, thank you.”  
When she turned around he was gone.  
He didn’t return for two months, in which time Attia’s knowledge of child bearing increased exponentially. Claudia had asked her to be in the room with her when the baby came. Attia wanted to be as prepared as possible. She spent a lot of time with the Sapient’s assistant, Manchester, a young man who had taken a liking to her.  
The day Keiro returned she was sitting in a field with him. They had packed a picnic basket and stopped talking about birthing almost as soon as they sat down on the grass. Attia tossed a grape and he caught it in his mouth, but in a split second after they cheered at his success he stiffened at something in the distance behind her.  
Attia turned around to see Keiro striding towards them. He looked angry, which explained why Manchester had tensed.  
“You’re back!” Attia said cheerfully when he reached them.  
“Obviously.” He picked up her goblet of wine and drank it.  
“Do you know Manchester? He’s training to be a doctor.” Attia gestured to the man who had stood up and offered his hand to Keiro.  
“I thought Sapients took the place of doctors.” Keiro shook his hand.  
“Sapients can’t marry.” Manchester grinned.  
Keiro grinned back.  
Attia was shocked to discover that they actually looked somewhat similar. Manchester was like a softer, kinder version of Keiro. She felt like she now knew what he would have become if he hadn’t been born in the prison.  
“Have someone special in mind, do you?” Keiro asked. Something in his voice was unsettling.  
“Perhaps, perhaps not.” Manchester matched his tone.  
“Of course.” Keiro was grinning the grin that meant he was trying very hard not to hit someone. “Attia, might I speak with you? Alone?”  
Attia accepted the hand he offered her and let him pull her up. Keiro took off towards the lake without another word. Attia smiled apologetically at Manchester before following him.  
“He wants to marry you.” He said once they reached the lake.  
“I know.”  
“And Clarissa wants me to marry her.”  
“It looks like we’re both marrying up. Who would have thought that a couple of prison scum would get a doctor and a Lady?” Attia found a stone bench and sat down.  
“So you’re going to say yes?” He stood behind her.  
“If he asks.” She shrugged.  
“Well then, I expect a seat of honor at the wedding.”  
“So you can get drunk in front of everyone?” She laughed. “I think not. We’ll put you in the back corner with the unwelcome cousins.”  
Since he was behind her she didn’t see his hand reach out to touch her hair and she didn’t see it drop back to his side.  
“You should also know that I don’t like him.” Keiro forced humor into his voice.  
“You don’t like anyone.” Attia laughed and stood up. “I should get back to him.”  
She left Keiro standing there, looking at the lake.

 

As soon as Keiro returned Clarissa started showing up much more often. She would follow him around, clinging to his arm when he allowed it.  
Claudia always felt obligated to invite her to tea, and the one time she accepted Claudia made Attia come too.  
“He’s found a place for the palace.” Claudia said conversationally. “Finn is already assembling the builders. It’s actually quite close to here.”  
“Funny. He traveled the entire country looking for a place to build that stupid palace and he chooses a place that’s quite close.”  
“I think his requirements changed.” Claudia sipped her tea to hide her smile as she eyed the two women.  
They were almost comically different. Attia was petite, with a mess of brown hair and chocolate eyes. Clarissa tall, well-endowed, blonde, and had blue eyes that were always open so wide that she constantly looked like a deer in headlights. Attia could cut a man’s throat with little effort, Clarissa could hardly cut her own steak.  
“Why do you suppose he’s ordered the castle now, Your Grace?” Clarissa asked, even though she obviously already knew the answer.  
“I believe he intends to marry.” Claudia took another sip.  
Clarissa did too. She also turned her head, but Attia and Claudia both knew she had a self-satisfied smirk on her face. When tea was over Attia excused herself.  
She went straight back to the bench she had sat at only days before when he had returned. Nothing could stop her tears. Even her repeated denial of her feelings. She would marry Manchester, she told herself, he’s the better option anyway.  
She had brought a biscuit with her from tea and crumbled it in her skirt. Ducks and geese gathered in front of her as she threw the bits of biscuit into the lake.  
“The lake! How romantic, Keiro!” Clarissa squealed from up the path.  
Attia wouldn’t turn around, not if he was with her.  
“Oh!” Clarissa exclaimed. “Our spot’s taken.”  
She turned around and smiled at the couple. Completely forgetting that tears stained her cheeks.  
If Keiro was surprised to see her sitting there he didn’t show it. Instead he stared at her intently, in the way that scared her. Clarissa was hanging on his arm, pouting like a child who lost a toy.  
“Oh, it’s you.” Clarissa sneered.  
“Go away.” Keiro said flatly.  
Clarissa smiled up at him. Attia almost felt guilty watching the look on her face when she realized he was talking to her.  
“Me?” She gasped dramatically. “But I thought we were going to have a special chat.”  
“Go away, Clarissa.” He pulled his arm from her grasp.  
Clarissa burst into tears and ran off.  
“That wasn’t very kind.” Attia watched her go until she couldn’t see her any longer.  
“My blue jacket’s gone.” Keiro sat next to her on the bench.  
“What blue jacket?” Attia feigned innocence.  
“You know which one.”  
“Fine, I snuck into your room when you left and took it.”  
“Why?”  
Attia shrugged. Her gaze fell to the hand that rested on his knee. It was scarred, but the nail was perfect. Metal and perfect. He followed her gaze and lifted his hand.  
“What is it?”  
“You can never leave. You take it with you everywhere.” It was almost a whisper. She ran her index finger lightly down the length of his until she reached the nail. It was surprisingly cool to the touch.  
“I find you here, crying, and you want to talk about how I’m a halfman?” He was always so quick to anger.  
Attia whirled away from him and crossed her arms. Why was she crying again?  
“What was that all about, Attia?” He asked, his voice strained, but softer than before.  
“We grew up there, lived there our whole lives. Then we just left and everything’s different.” She was surprised at how steady her voice was. “So I went back, but it didn’t work. So I came back out, and it didn’t work again.”  
“You miss it?”  
“Not it. What I got from it.” She looked up at him.  
“You thought you could leave for two years and come back and have everything go back to normal?” He laughed.  
She didn’t answer, just looked away from him.  
“Because you can’t. That can’t happen.”  
“That’s not what I want.” She looked at him.  
“I almost asked Clarissa to marry me.”  
If Attia had felt empty before, now she felt utterly hollow. As if nothing could fill her.  
“She’s horrible.” She muttered, deciding to be honest.  
Keiro laughed. “She is.”  
“Then why are you marrying her?” Attia was surprised at the anger in her voice.  
“Because you’re marrying the pretty boy doctor.” He took her hand.  
She looked at their intertwined fingers, confusion written across her face.  
“Really, Attia, sometimes you are just dull as a brick.”  
He leaned toward her but Attia pulled back just before his lips met hers, her eyes wide.  
“What are you doing?” She was shocked.  
Keiro put his elbows on his knees and covered his face with his hands.  
“I’m trying to kiss you, Attia.”  
“Why?”  
“Why do you think?” He threw his hands up and jumped from the bench.  
“You wanted to leave me when I saved you from Jormanric.”  
“I wouldn’t say saved.”  
“And when I ate the poison apple, you were going to let me die.”  
“I gave up the ring eventually.”  
“How many times did you threaten to leave me behind?”  
“A few.”  
“Even when you were Outside and I was still in. You told Finn to give up, let us die.”  
“You scare me, Attia.”  
“You aren’t even nice to me!” She jumped up to face him. She was suddenly remembering every terrible thing he had ever done to her.  
It was strange. Wasn’t this what she wanted? Why was she fighting him?  
“Would you like me to be?” He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist. She put her hands on his chest and arched her back to keep their faces apart.  
“What are you saying, Keiro?”  
“I’m saying that leaving you in that prison was the worst mistake of my life. And every time I decided not to leave you behind, or let Finn have his way and drag you along, those were the good mistakes.” He smirked. “I’d go back in, if that’s what you wanted.”  
“You’d give up being a Prince for me?” She was having a hard time believing any of it.  
He shrugged. “We could always go back and claim my Winglordship. We could make Jormanric your dog slave.”  
“How long have you been thinking this?”  
“Since I pulled you out of the Prison.”  
“Why are you just now telling me?” She knew she didn’t have much room to talk.  
“I’ve tried a few times. It never went the way I planned.”  
“You can be really cryptic. Can you just say it? If you really mean it, just say it.”  
“Attia.” He touched his forehead to hers. “I am the most material person I know, but if all I had in life was you, I’d be happy. I love you.”  
“I’m sorry, my Lady.” A servant ran up behind them before Attia had the chance to answer him. “The Queen has gone into labor.”  
Keiro let her go.  
“She’s three weeks early.” Attia gasped.  
She hiked her skirts up and ran after the servant without looking back at Keiro.  
He took a moment to run his hands through his hair and kick at the ducks without aiming before he ran after them. Finn would need him.  
Claudia’s screams could be heard throughout the castle. Finn paced in front of her door.  
“Attia!” He cried when he saw her. “It’s early! The baby is early.”  
She had never seen him look so hopeless and afraid.  
“Get Keiro.” Attia told the servant. When Finn was afraid Keiro made him be brave. Keiro made everyone feel braver, as long as he was on your side.  
Attia went straight to Claudia’s side. She held her hand and wiped sweat from her forehead. Hours later Claudia’s screams and cries turned into the screams and cries of a baby. A baby boy.  
Manchester took the baby from the Sapient who had delivered it and cleaned it off. Claudia was exhausted, too weak to sit up, but as Manchester passed the baby to Attia and she took it over to her friend, she looked at it with more love than Attia could imagine feeling.  
The Sapient seemed concerned about Claudia so he sent Attia and the crying babe out. They were immediately replaced by Finn after he took a second to kiss his new son and marvel at how perfect he was. He took his place at his wife’s side. The door was closed again, leaving Attia alone in the hall with only the baby and Keiro, who was leaning on the wall opposite the door.  
The baby cooed and Keiro looked up. “Why do you have it? It isn’t yours.”  
“They’re all taking care of Claudia now.” She shrugged, barely paying him any attention. Something about the little being in her arms mesmerized her.  
Keiro pulled back the blanket to get a better look at its face.  
“It’s ugly.” He chuckled warmly.  
“It will get cuter.”  
“Do you want kids?” He asked hesitantly.  
“Yes, someday.”  
“I won’t be a good Father.”  
Attia laughed.  
“I’m being serious. My only father figure was a tyrannical prison.”  
Attia didn’t say anything, only stepped up to him and deposited the baby in his arms.  
“Oh no no no.” He tried to hand it back to her. After he realized it wouldn’t die instantaneously he relaxed.  
“You’ll be fine.”

The hustle and bustle of the new baby put their conversation on hold. Claudia was recovering, but slowly. What time Attia didn’t spend with Claudia, she spent taking care of the baby, John.  
Even Keiro had stepped up to help the young couple while Claudia recovered. He dubbed himself the official court charmer. His main job was distracting ambassadors and dukes until Finn decided he wanted to see them.  
As each day went by Keiro was growing more and more positive that Attia didn’t return his affections. Manchester was always hanging around, helping with Claudia and smiling at Attia. He insisted that she would be a wonderful mother someday. Attia blushed, Keiro scowled.  
The day that Claudia was finally strong enough to care for her own child Attia left the castle. Keiro found out from the stable boy that she had taken a horse and headed north. He hesitated before following her. If she was avoiding him he didn’t want to pressure her, but he needed an answer. The silence was driving him mad.  
When he found her she was lounging under a tree in the middle of a field of wildflowers. She looked serene, and once again he hesitated.  
He got off his horse and approached her on foot. She didn’t even realize he was there until he dropped beside her. She opened her eyes just as he pulled her face to his and kissed her.  
It was a kiss he had kept pent up from the moment Incarceron caught them after they jumped off the bridge. It had been added to a million times, and now it was all being released.  
He pulled away suddenly, as if he had just remembered something.  
“Is this why you came back?” He panted. “You said you missed what you got from the prison and I thought about it and I’m pretty sure you meant me. So if you didn’t then you’re a tease and Manchester deserves you.”  
“I just came to give you your jacket back.” She said flatly.  
“Oh.” He leaned away from her.  
“Don’t be stupid, I was joking.” She gripped the lapels of his jacket, the blue one, and pulled his lips back to hers.  
“Wait.” Keiro said against her lips before pulling away. “It’s your turn. Say it.”  
“I love you.”  
“No, you can do better than that.”  
She huffed. “I fought tooth and nail to forget you. But every time I almost succeeded the smallest thing would remind me of you. It took me too long to realize that you are never going away and I don’t want you to. Incarceron isn’t my home, and this place isn’t my home. You are, Keiro. I’m only happy when I’m with you.”  
Attia buried her face in Keiro’s chest and he rested his chin on top of her head.  
“You’re going to have a fun time explaining this to Clarissa.” Keiro sighed.  
“Me? What makes you think I’m going to do it?”  
“She’ll probably try to claw my eyes out. Are you really going to risk this face getting messed up?”  
“I don’t care what you look like.”  
“Then why do you like me at all?” He was genuine. Attia realized that Keiro’s self-worth started and ended with his physique.  
“You’re brave and smart.” She looked up at him. “And kind when you think no one’s looking.”  
He kissed her again.  
“We should probably go back.” He said, yet again breaking off a kiss before she was ready for it to end.  
“Yes, I need to find Clarissa.” Attia agreed.  
“If you tell anyone what I said this isn’t going to work out.” He offered her his hand to help her up and led her back to the horses.  
“Even Claudia?”  
“Especially Claudia.”

 

Clarissa didn’t need to be told anything. She took one look at them and knew. Keiro never held onto her, she always held onto him. But with Attia he was protective, if not territorial.  
She stomped up to them before they even reached the palace door. By the time she drew her hand back to slap him, Attia had punched her in the nose.  
Clarissa screamed and ran away without a word to either of them.  
Keiro beamed down at her. “I have never loved you more.”  
Manchester knew as well. He walked out of Claudia’s room as they were walking in.  
“Ah, I see.” He said when he saw them hand in hand.  
“Attia just punched a girl who was about to slap me and I feel like I need to pay her back for that, so don’t try anything.” Keiro warned.  
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He dipped his head and walked around them.  
“Let’s not tell them yet.” Attia whispered before they entered Claudia’s room.  
“What? Why?” Keiro asked, but it immediately dawned on him. “Are you seriously ashamed of me?”  
“No! Keiro, don’t be an idiot.” She swatted at his arm. “They just had a baby, and Claudia almost didn’t make it. Let’s focus on them for now. When things have settled down we can tell them.”  
“Fair enough.” Keiro reluctantly let go of her hand and followed her into the room. 

 

Day after day Keiro grew more frustrated. He was having trouble getting Attia alone. They were constantly surrounded by people. So when a servant told them that the King and Queen would not be joining them for breakfast he decided to take full advantage.  
“So, when are we getting married?” He asked.  
“What?” She choked on her tea.  
“I would prefer sooner rather than later.” He leaned over and tried to kiss her but she backed away.  
“If this is your idea of a proposal than you need to find someone who will give you lessons on romance.”  
“Okay, I’ll do that. But when are we getting married?”  
“Not until your palace is finished.” She smiled. “Our palace.”  
This time is was he who leaned away from a kiss.  
“That could take years.”  
“Well we need somewhere to live.”  
“What’s wrong with here?” He gestured vaguely, indicating the whole palace.  
“You want us to live in our friend’s palace?” She sighed.  
“Well, we already do.”  
“But we aren’t married.” Attia stood up, ready to leave him alone with his breakfast.  
Keiro pulled her into his lap. “Let’s not fight, please.”  
“You said ‘please’.” She tucked a strand of golden hair away from his face.  
“That I did.” He brushed his nose against hers. “And I think that in itself deserves a reward.”  
He kissed her, tangling his fingers in her hair and pulling her close.  
“Um.” Keiro heard from the doorway.  
Keiro pushed Attia off his lap and stood up. She landed on her backside on the floor. Finn stared at them with narrowed eyes.  
“What was that?” Attia stood up and shoved Keiro. He pointed at Finn.  
“Oh.” She blushed.  
Keiro smiled at the color that came to her cheeks.  
“Are you two-?”  
“Are we what?” Keiro laughed. Attia wanted to keep the secret, but he was done sneaking around. He pulled her to him and kissed her right in front of Finn.  
She mumbled protests against his mouth.  
“I want to be able to tell people that you’re mine. Because you are.” He cupped her chin in his hand and made her look at him.  
“I’m not your dog slave, Keiro.”  
“No, you’re my girl and people need to know that.” He turned to Finn. “Attia and I are going to get married.”  
“Still not a good proposal.” She muttered.  
“Congratulations?” Finn was unsure.  
“Thank you. Go away.” Keiro turned back to Attia. “Well?’  
“Well what?”  
He knelt on one knee and pulled a ring out of his pocket. Attia gasped at the sight of it.  
“Will you marry me?” He asked.  
“Oh, I have a choice now do I?”  
“No, I just thought you’d like to think you do.” He slipped the ring onto her finger and stood up.  
“Fine, but I get to choose when.”  
Keiro grimaced. He didn’t want to wait years.  
“One month. That should be enough time for a dress to be made, and for you to go get my brother’s blessing. And for them to get ready to come up, at least for the wedding.”  
“I’ll go tomorrow, if that’s what you want.” He pulled her to him and kissed her.

 

Five Years Later  
Keiro held his son, Gildas. He was two now, and perfect. Dark curls like his mom and blue eyes like him. The eyes really seemed to be the only thing Gildas inherited from him.  
Keiro was happy about that.  
Attia came and sat beside them, her stomach only slightly swollen from their second child.  
“Mama.” Gildas laughed when he saw her.  
“Hello there, my handsome boy.”  
“Well hello to you too.” Keiro smirked.  
Attia snorted and swatted his arm.  
Keiro put his son down and watched as he ran off to play with John.  
“Did the Sapients say anything?” Keiro asked when their son was out of ear shot. Not that he would understand what his parents were talking about, but there were some things Keiro wanted his son, and whatever the next child was, to learn when they were old enough to understand.  
“This baby seems to be all human too.” She took his hand. “They don’t think you can pass on what the Prison gave you. And if you did, so what? It would still be our baby.”  
“I don’t want any part of the prison in our babies. If I can’t give them that then they deserve a different Father.” He absentmindedly rubbed her stomach.  
“Don’t say that.” She was angry. “I love every part of you. And if it wasn’t for that metal fingernail you would have left me in that place when you tried to get out the first time. There would be no Gildas and no new baby.”  
Keiro sighed and kissed her on the head.  
“They’re perfect, Attia. I don’t want to ruin them.”  
“Then don’t leave them, Keiro. Because that’s the surest way to do it.” She was gripping his arm.  
He kissed her lightly and rested his forehead in her temple.  
“I couldn’t if I wanted to. I’d be gone for one day before I realized I can’t live without you, then I would come crawling back on all fours only to find out you already replaced me with Manchester.”  
Attia laughed despite herself. “No one could ever replace you.”  
“Well then it’s a good thing no one is ever going to have to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who read this, I truly hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
